DEBT OF HONOUR PAID

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 586, 12 February 1929, Page 16

DEBT OF HONOUR PAID

MISSION HALL RESTORED

OPENING AS MUSEUM

The old house at Mission Bay entered upon another stage of its history to-day, when Archbishop Averill opened it as a Melanesian Mission Museum.

Built in 1859 by the first and martyred Bishop of Melanesia, John Coleridge Patteson, it has become a memorial to the high-minded and courageous pioneers of the Church. The Bishop was helped in his building by Captain Sustins, of the first mission ship Southern Cross, and the stone was brought from Rangitoto by Captain Grange, who was afterwards master of a later Southern Cross.

The build; lg was once the dining hall and kitchen of St: Andrew’s College, the headquarters of the Melanesian Mission, and for a time it was used for the training of islanders in theology. Kohimarama proved to be too cold lor the Melanesians, and in 1867 the sea of the college was transferred to Norfolk Island. After serving many purposes the college buildings were removed or demolished with the exception of the hall, which fell into ruins. RESTORATION Archbishop Averill appealed tc the Diocesan Synod for help in the raising of £SOO for the restoration of the remaining buildings last year, “to pay this debt of honour to the memories of men whose lives and examples have meant so much to New Zealand.” The Melanesian Mission Trust Board subsidised the sum raised by the appeal and £1,500 was spent on renovations, a new roof of shingles being put on, and the windows, doors, joinery and floors being restored. The fine hall, 35ft by 18ft has been fitted up as a museum, with showcases containing Melanesian relics and curios, including the collection owned by Miss M. Aitken, of Kohimarama, and that of Bishop Stewart. Two smaller rooms and a kitchen have been furnished for a caretaker. Invitations to be present at the opening ceremony, which took place this afternoon, were issued to the clergy of Auckland, and to those who contributed to the restoration.