Worthy of the Craft.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 16 May 1890, Page 2

Worthy of the Craft.

WILLIAM COLENSO. (From " Typo." Former biographical sketches in these pages have dealt only with English and American printers, and we have not been able, like our corntemporaries to whom we were in* ilebted for the articles, to publish portraits of tha gentlemen in question. Our subscribers this month,, we are sur**, will be gratified to receive the fine plate representing New Zealand's earliest printer, the Rev. W. Coleuso, v.R.8., i-'.ii.s., The portrait is a most successful and faithful reproduction, an American process of photoengraving, of a life-Uk* photograph taken very recently byMr S. Carnell, of Napier. So many ref -rences to Mr Colenso and his w rk have appeared in former issues of Typo, that it ia not necessary to add greatly to what we have a'ready published : nevertheless, a few additional details will not be oot of place. William Colenso belongs to an old Cornish family, and was born« at Penzance in I*Bll. He is a, first cousin to the late Bishop of Natal, John WilliamjColenso, celebrated aa a mathematician and biblical critic. In hisyonth he learned the arts of i printing and bookbinding, and worked in the office of Watts & Son. 2 Temple Bar, Crown Court, where h was for a time engaged on work for tha British and Foreign Bibl« Society. In the year 1833, the Church Missionary Society — arter^many ur* gent appeals fivni* the resident mis* siornries — decided to s^nd out a press and outfit to far-distant New Zealand ; but had son*- difficulty in finding a printer to take .charge. About the end of the year, Mr Colenso was introduced to the B6v^ etaries of the mission, and was definitely engaged, in the .double capacity of missionary and printer. Events justified the choice, for uo better man could have been found. Some six mouths' delay took pKce before everything was ready for despatch, all details being arranged by the secretaries of the mission, who loftily ignored all sugges ; ions by the printer himself as to the materials necessary for his work. Types, ink, a press, and lastly a ponderous mllor- mould, were apparently in their opinion all that a reasonable man had a ri<_'ht to expect. They refused to supply pagecord — would not the native flax answer every purpose ? As for an imposing'stone, it was absurd to Bhip such a thing to the land " where the handsome greenstone abounds "! (This iniir eral, chiefly used for ornaments, is a species of jade, exceedingly hard and heavy, and is found only in one locality, on the West Coast of the South Is'and.) Printer and plant at last started, and after a voyage of seventeen week-, reached New South Wales. Two months' ('clay occurred in Sydney before a skipper sould be found to risk a voyage to the " cannibal islands ;" and indeed this dread of the natives was well founded. At last, on the 10th December, Mr Colenso sailed in a wretched litt c schooner, and after a twenty days' passage, reached the Hay of Is'ands. On the Brd January, 1885, the prtsa aad plant were landed. All was now anxiety to get to work ; but a less resourceful man would have been in dispair On taking stock, the found that he bad no cases, leads, rule, ink-table, roller stocks nor frames, lye-brush n r potash and no paper ! For* tiiHalely he had provided himself with his own composing-stick ; the resident missionaries had a little writing pap-r among their stores ; necessity, the mother of invention, enabled him to supply other requirements after a fashion ; and on the 17th February, 1885, was worked off, in the presence of admiring spectators, the fir«t copy of the first book printed in New Zealand— the Epistles to the Ephesians and Philippians, in the Maori language. After long delay, supplies of paper arrived ; and in December, 1887, under difficulties such as peihasfi no priirei over had to surmount since the first invention of the art, Mr Colenso completed his great work — the entire New Testament, in octavo, small'pica type. Out of the largo edition of six thousand copies on y one is known to exist — the volumn in Mr Coleuso's own possession. It is an excellent piece of work, admira';y printed throughout, and strong'y and neatly bound. No one looking over the pagen of this in* teresting relic would suspect under what circumstances of difficulty it was produced. For a vivid account of tho difficulties attending tbe work, and its many hiu'lrancos (for a lull sha eof the ordinary mission-work devolved on the printer in addition to his special duty ) readers are re* ferred to Mr Colenso's interesting little book, " Fifty years ago iv New Zealand, "published in 188 Q. Other presses were afterwards mr ported by tlje mission, and tbe month of April, 1840, mw the Mrth «f the

newspaper press. Mr Colenso'e time was thenceforward chiefly de* Toted to the ordinary misiioivwork, in tho course of which he traversed nearly the whole of the Novt'i IVand on foot — a tremendous uu;! rr^lriiig in the foys before roads and bridges existed. Twice he crossed the great snowy range of the Ruahine — i iVat ( few wou d venture to imitate. For two years ho resided with Biaho } . Selwyn, at St -John's College, W'iiniato ;in 1844 he took orders, and in the same year took up his abode in HawWs Bay, where he has since remained. Mr Colenso is the only surviving European who was present on the important occasion of the signing of the Treaty ot Waitangi. on the Oth February, 1840; and his latest-pub-lished work, issued from the Govern inent press, is a detai ed account of the proceedings, written at the time. 1 As a man of scionce, Mr Coleuso has a wide reputation. There is no greater authority on Maori arts antiquities, myths, and legendary lore, or on the natural history of the Is lands. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and in recognition of his distinguisqed contributions to botanical science was elecied Fe low of the Royal Society. From the first foundation of the New Zealand Institute he has been the largest and most valued contributor to its Trans* actions. He was the first to iden ■ tify thi fossil remains of tho gigantic flinornis— tb.3 (m>a) of Ma >ri proverb—as those of v bird. He has in manuscript a voluminous lexicon ot the Polynesian lan»uage, the labor of yeare. It was undertaken by request of the Government, at the pnblic cost, and was approaching completion when a new administralionjreversed ihe order, and succeeding governments have declined to carry out the work officially, or to permit the author to find a private publisher. Since his retirement from active ministerial work, he has iilled important public offices. In 1861 he was elected to represent iNajiiei- iv the first General As-emb y and retained th^ seat for many years. Under the proriucical system he waa one of the town repie entatives in the Ptoviniical Council, and at various times filed the offiee6 of provincial treasurer and inapector of schools. Advancing age has neither quenched his old fire, nor dimmed his intellect, and as his years in crease so does his love of n ttui-e. Most of his time is now spent in his favourite woods far inland, where he etill finds new ferns and lovely plants hitherto uuknown. He knows of rare trees in many hidden nooks as yet untouched by fire and steel, and watches forj perfect bios- j Boms aud ripened seeds, to send as tokens to frieuds in distant lands. On iunny a quiet sabbath day he preaobes from a country pulpit or the desk of a village school Ho is esteemed by all, >md beloved by j those who know him well. In his | home in Napier, he has a unique* collection of natural! specimens and vuriosities of native art, andja larg9 and valuable library ; but of all these treasures there i« none so highly prized as his copy of the sacr d volitfne, printed, amid such strange surroundings and under such extraordinary difficulties, fifty-three years ago.