IN THE DAYS OF THE PIONEERS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 887, 5 August 1910, Page 6

IN THE DAYS OF THE PIONEERS

» •-.'... ARCHDEACON SAMUEL WILLIAMS. (By Thomas Bevan, Sen.) Tho late Archdeacon Samuel Williams arrived among the Ngatiraukawa at Otaki in 1847. Ho journeyed from. district to district to expound the teaching, of Christ to thousands of Maoris, and he was loved and respected by all amongst whom he lived. He was possessed of that sympathetic feeling which distinguished the best class of English clergymen, and spent nearly tho whole of his time and energy travelling up and down' the coast to prevent unfriendly relations between the Natives and Europeans. ■ He rendered services of incalculable value when stationed at Otaki. He. gave instructions to the Maoris in planting apple, peach, and various other fruit trees. I havo seen him- working, with hundreds of Natives building the Church Raugiatea, with ' his . coat off sawing timber and carpentering. 'He was the superintendent as regards the erecting of the church, for which he was also the architect. In those days there wore no plumbers, so he used his watch, and tied a long string to it, and held it up to plumb .the large pillars of the building. Mr. John Curley was in charge of the Maori carpenters.' When an. invitation was given by Te Ranparaha and 'Mateno te Whiwhi to the people to come and assist in the building ot'the church, the invitation was readily responded to by. hundreds of Maori labourers. ■> After the church was built the Archdeacon was ver£ active in labouring to have the old boanding college and. school built. When it was comnlotcd bo took thirty Maori girls and' boarded them in his own house, .and did his best, to engage them in profitable and useful occupations. He laboured hard amongst the Maoris in putting slavery down, arid had many released on this coast, the Maoris being bound together in one common cause of missionary !work by the bonds of Christian love. Both races wero alike the object of his care. Now there stands his memorial Church. Rangiatea, in memory of his zeal and influence over the Natives. He often preserved the' peace amongst, them at great personal risk to himself, and .taught hundreds of Maoris to read and write in their own language. The results, however, were not as satisfactory as had been anticipated, for Maoris who had learned 'to read soon began to fancy themselves, and got into pakeha society, where they generally succeeded in getting tlioir morals corrupted. Ho taught all tho tribes of this district that they ought not to hate and destroy, but to love and do good to one another. When the Maoris learned his words of wisdom they ceased to go to war against each other, and all the tribes became one oeople, and peaceful inhabitants'. They began to build large houses because there was no onomy to null them ■ down. They cultivated their lands, and had abundance of-bread bocnuse no hostile tribes entered into their fields to destroy the fruits of their la hour, and instead of the Toots of fern thoy are eatiiur bread. O chiefs and tribes of the Ngatirau kawa you have been taught -this good work by the late Archdeacon Williams and you enjoy the fruits of his labour' and it remains to be seen whether the young generation of the Ngatimukawas will erect a monument for his good work and his rcmembrnnce. as they regarded him as a father and a faithful guide, whoso life was a beautiful example of the religion to which it was devoted When he departed from Otaki the Na' fives lest a, veritable shining light

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