Eighty-Seven Years of Christianity.

Shannon News, 7 October 1927, Page 4

Eighty-Seven Years of Christianity.

NEW JUBILEE POLE SET UP. HOW THE BIBLE CAME TO OTAKI. For many years a wooden pole, erected to celebrate the advent of Christianity into this district, sit,ood opposite ithe Kangiatea in,Convent Road, but of recent years it fell into a state of decay, and was pulled flown, and a new one in concrete erected. The pole, which is of substantial build, is mounted on a solid concrete base 12ft square by 12in high. The second base is 10ft x 12in, the third Bft x 12in, and the fourth 4ft x 2ft. On a marble slab, lift x 2ft, set into the pillar, is an inscription in Maori, and translated into English, as follows: — ,‘This monument was erected by the Maoris and Europeans on 9th February, 1927, to replace the Jubilee pole erected on 9th February, 1880, to commemorate the advent of Christianity in this district in the year of our Lord, 1840."

Around the base of the monument there is a neat - kerbing. The weight of the whole work is about 22 tons, while £l2O was required for its erection. Most of this money was generously subscribed by Maoris and Europeans.

The monument was unveiled on Monday afternoon last in the presence of a large gathering. School children from the State, Mission, and Maori Schools, with the Maori Girl Guides, assembled at the Raukawa, and marched through the town to the Native Church where a short service was held. /There were present the Revs. Temuera Tokoaitua, J. K. Aloir, aad Williams, and Messrs .Viils and Rcvra (lay readers). After prayers, suitable hymns, and a lesson, the latter read by the Rev. Moir, Rev. Williams gave an address in Maori, uul afterwards spoke in English, stating that it was a happy idea having ,he children .present. He said that the unveiling of the monument reminded him of the first gospel coming to Otaki, Juc to a little girl who carried a gospel of St. Luke, who, with her father, was attacked by the Arawa tribe, and murlered. As a result, however, Christianity became established.

The story, in full, is as follows: — "In the early Mission days when the Church of England and the Methodist Church were doing their great work among the Maoris, there lived in the vVaikato a native chief called Ngakuku. Ngakuku was not a Christian but lie favoured the Christian faith sufficiently to warrant him in sending Tarore, his little girl of eleven years, over the ivaimai mountain range to Tauranga, that she might, learn to read in the Maori tongue from the missionaries there. In the old mission house, under Archdeacon and Mrs. Brown she accomplished her task and was about to return home, when she received as a gift from Airs. Brown a copy of St. Luke's Gospel as printed on the old mission press at Paihia rjy Air. Colenso. Every day she carried it in a Alaori bag hung round her neck; at night in the same

bag it was under -her head as a pillow. In the evenings she read from it to her father and his men. As her father listened he realised that it was not the child speaking but- the book through her. "Why," said lie, ".these are the words of the Great Spirit," and beingcaptivated by the message he gave his heart to God.

"Some time later, a party from the Pa was journeying, and Ngakuku took with him Tarore and her little brother of three years. They came one evening to the foot of the Waircrc Falls, a fall that comes over the mountain side in two great leaps of about 500 feet, and here they halted for the night. They were, however, injudicious in that they allowed the smoke from “their evening camp fire to ascend through the bushes and rising over the tops ol the highest trees it was seen by an enemy war party far up the valley. These were members of the Arawa tribe at Rotorua and the. deadly enemies of ,thc Waikatos. Determining upon an attack they came down through the night and in the early dawn they fell upon Wiremu Ngakuku and his party. They were hindered; '•owevrr, for some minutes searching a v’Tii belonging to an Englishman named

f; wlj.o was with. Ngakuku. Being irelly and easily aroused Ngakuku ;nve orders to his men and he go.t his party up the hill to a-place of safety, himself carrying in his arms his little child of three years. Unfortunately, however, in the confusion Tarore was forgotten, or else she was sleeping so heavily that she could not be wakened and she was left behind. She lay in the sound sleep of childhood, her head pillowed upon her St. Luke's Gospel. Tarore never awakened—at least in this life—and when sometime afterwards, Ngakuku got back again he found the dead body of his child. Picking the body up tenderly, lie carried it into Alatamata some miles distant where it was buried in the Alaori cemetery. His men called for revenge; but he declined. "No," said the chief,

"there has been too much blood-letting. The Great God in Heaven that I have learned to love through the reading of her Gospel, He will take care of the revenge.’

"A fortnight afterwards, there was an attack by the same party, when j three of the men interested in the first attack were killed, but their chief, ! llifa, carrying with him the trophies of j the first fight made his way back to j Rotorua. Among the trophies was the i bag with its Alaori Gospel. It lay at ! Rotorua for some time, until one day ! there came to the Pa a slave called j Ripahau carrying the headless body of his master for burial. He had been taught to read and on joining up with the Rotorua tribe he demonstrated his power by reading Tarore's Gospel. He was not a Christian; but as he read, the men gathered to listen and Uifa, the chief, the very man whose hands had been stained with the blood of the little owner of the book, gave his heart to God as he heard its great message. With the innate dignity of the Alaori chief, however, he would not confess his faith publicly until ho had had permission. He therefore caused a letter to be written to Wiremu Ngakuku humbly asking of Kim permission to enter a Christian place of worship and to confess his faith. Verily the Great God in heaven had avenged Ngakuku. The slave after some time left Rotorua, and travelling south came down to Otaki, where he joined up with the tribe of the famous warrior chief, To Rauparaha. "Te Rauparaha was one of the three great chiefs of the North Island, Te Rauparaha, Waharoa, and Hongi. He used to buy muskets from the early whalers and with them he struck terror to the hearts of the native people. Especially , did he terrorise the south part of the North Island, while he carried fearful raids to the Kaikouras and to Canterbury, so that his name was hated on all sides. He had, however, a son, Tamiliana, who was of milder disposition—one who did not love his father's ways. At Tamiliana's request this slave taught him to read, for he had with him a few pages of an old prayer book with which he had been demonstrating his unusual power. These pages were soon exhausted am a messenger was sent back to Rotorua for further books. Some three or four came down. One of them had lost its cover and outside pages. They had been torn off to be used for bullet wads. But on what was left was the name ‘Ngakuku.’ It was Tarore's very Gospel. Soon there was to be seen out on the Island of Kapiti, Te Rauparaha's stronghold, three men, two of them with portions of this Gospel, upon their knee, while the third, the slave, was teaching them to read. Tamiliana soon gave his heart to God. ami then also his cousin who was with him did the same. By their testimony the slave became a Christian. Then a work of evangelisation went through the Pa and the tribe. Anxious now to get a missionary Tamiliana went right up to tho Bay of Islands and it was through his pleading that Air. O. Hadfield came down to settle at Otaki.

"Some time later, standing on the shores of Kapiti and looking towards the South Island Tamihana thought of his father's enemies and he determined that he too would be a missionary. Accompanied by his cousin he set out in tin open canoe ami in a journey of over a thousand miles in the open seas lie went down to the Kaikouras, to Can.erbury, and right down the east coast to the south of Otago preaching the Gospel with great power in every Pa along the coast At a later date when Bishop Selwyn went down - to the south on his first great episcopal tour, he found a Atethodist missionary "established, but he found also scores of Maoris who had become Christians through the influence of Tamihana. "And still the story of Tarore's Gospel is not fully told. For several years past the native children of Otaki, the direct spiritual descendants of Tamihana, have been giving money to the Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society in New Zealand, asking him that with it he would sen'll Gospels to native children far away. The first year the Gospels went to Alary, Slessor’s work in Old Calabar. The second year they went to Japan, where they were given to a troop of boy scouts and some Japanese school girls. The third year they went to Labrador, and some little time ago there came a letter from Dr. Ritson asking the New Zealand Secretary to thank the native children of Otaki and other pakeha children for 24 Bibles and 9.1 Testaments —their gift through him to Dr. Grenfell for the children of Labrador."

After a further hymn the children with adults, .grouped at the monument, when Mr. King! Tahiwi thanked the people of both races for attending the unveiling ceremony and for the opportunity given him of addressing them. After reading the inscription on the monument, Mr. Tahiwi dealt with the trouble that existed in the olden days between various tribes, and stated how the tribe on this side of the river had suffered a~ reverse during the tribal troubles. They contemplated revenge and marshalled their forces, but the timely arrival of the Rev. Williams (grandfather of the Rev. Williams who was with them that day) in 1839, who, with his oratory and enthusiasm for Christianity, managed to persuade the chief to do away with fighting. It was due to this gentleman that Christhnity was introduced. The Maori supported strongly the movement, and in 1877 a leading chieftain moved that a monument be erected to mark the advent of Christianity into this district. In 18S the Jubilee pole was erected, and the Maoris of the district remained loyW from that day to this. Mr. Tahiwi said that the Europeans had done much for the Maoris. They had worked amicably together, and it was his wish to see them continue to do so. He still asked for the assistance of the Europeans, stating that if this was forthcoming much good would result. He prayed and hoped that the good feeling would exist for all time. Mr. Tth'ivi hen asked Mr. Hori te Warn, eno of he oldest Natives in the district, to -jh-

veil the monument. This was done 1 amidst applause. / Mr Rere Nikitini, of Levin, then spoke. He said they had all gathered together to celebrate the unveiling of the pole, and to remind those present of the good work done in 1880. Mr. Tahiwi, he said, had given them a brief sketch of the people who ha 1 lived here. Referring to Te Rauparaha the speaker said they regarded him as the "Napoleon of the Maoris” in the same way as Napoleon was looked upon by the English race. Te Rauparaha arrived here and conquered, and after he had declared peace the Jaoris lived in harmony. Mr, Nikitini referred to the time the warships stood off Porirua harbour, and sent marines ashore to take Te Rauparaha away. Between them sprang up good feeling and as the result of his request the present Church was built at Otaki. It had also been decided to erect a memorial to Te Rauparaha and this had been done, and this stood next to the monument. Quite- a number of those present had contributed towards the cost of the monument, and on behalf of the people he thanked them for their help. Mr. Nikitini, in conclusion, apolo-, gised for the absence of the Bishop.