THE LATE ARCHDEACON GOVETT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 236, 2 November 1903, Page 2

THE LATE ARCHDEACON GOVETT.

3 J TO THE EDITOR. Sie, —I hava received from W, D. , Webster, of your town (whom I re- , memb r as a boy), a copy of the Daily > News containing a biographical sketch i of the late muth-respeoted Archdeacon Gov<-tt, which I h >ve read with great i ioiereas; rince 43 years ago, I was 3 acting as Daacon and- r his supervision, > aid was in ministerial ih"r<;e of the ff«nui, Mantrorei and Huia Ball Binek, £ near New Plymouth. After ihe war practically broke out in Janinry, 1860, ('lie first Maori biiog shot my ® garden fence at Bell Block, and I was ' burnt out of house and home by the 1 hostile natives) I was appointed a chaplain to the troops and Volunteers, and received my totally inadequate pay , from the War Office (5a a day and ; rations). In your repirt you have fallen i into u mistake when you say, " The day i after the attack on the Puketakanere 1 pah near Waitara, on June 27th, 1860, ' when the military suffered heavy loss, r Govett and Mr Whiteley (Wesleyan ' Minister and Missionary, afterwards ' oi uelly murdered) rode out to the Wai- ' sara, to persuade the natives to bury heir dead which they consented to do." fht> fact is it was not Mews Gov»tt ! and W hiteley who rode out to Waitara on that occasion, tut myself and my son, the latter a lad of 14 (now Dr. t WollastOD, 1.5.A,, L.L.D, ControllerGeneral of Customs in Australia) I mounted on the Archdeacon's horso (is , 'is well remembers). During the storming of the psh erected in the night by he hostile party of Werumi Kingi, on ' the ground which the Governor had :wught from Ihaia, a friendly chief, soma of my piriahio&ers were slain or wounded, and I rode out to the military ■ camp in order to see that the sufferers were removed to New Plymouth in the small steamer lying at the mouth of . the river. Half-way to Waitar?, as my • boy and I were about to cro«s a small scream, we were suddenly surrounded by a party of hostile natives, fully armed, and headed by the chief Nici korim'i. We could neitlior of us speak Maori, therefore could not understand what their object was in detaining us ; but as I was apparently recogniHed by some of them as a " xUissionary," who up to that tima rhey had no: dared to kill, after consulting together for some time, thuy evidently agreed nos to shoot us, for Nickorima turned to u», and waving his long tomahawk, shouted out, " Hauri ko wtiu! bauri ko wau!" which we understood to mean j " Be off!" or " Go back!" We gladly; turned our horsas heads and gi Hoped J back the way we came, th&nkf al for j our escape. As soon, however, as we were ou-; of sight I directed my son to ride to New Plymouth and report to, the Adjutant that we h >d been waylaid j andstopp;dby the enemy from pro-! r.eeding to Waitur >; while, I dutermined, if possible, to reach t'ie camp' in spite of th.icu, and therefore cut across the f«rn land to the b»>a"h, a<id succeeded in reaching my l I destination about 2 o'clock, dinod : J witn the Lfficars, saiv i.hn patients 1 isifuly conveynu to the. steamer, and at. so'; off 0y the aamuioute on my return journey, reaching New Plymouth late at night without, further adventure. E.rly next morning I met, near the eastorn gates of the " lines," men carrying a stretc her on wliich lay the corpses of a man and two lads, who had been'tern ik&tt-icod by Mauris while digging up pot-tttofes in the ricighuouihood. Tisese wero the fir-it whites murdered in the war, so twit I Mb cur tsoape was pr:v'd. n wl. 1' wiu, «• his tiuio living ».i.v. m> w:fo i>. a M. o. i jiiui> in.'.jili ui ).u .) ,»v A;, a. .1 '•Mio • li.iJi.i u wl» .>.O I'lOi-iS, i my own, had boon wepore-'d lu tile N<j!xo;i j i College. At the and of the y „r, seeing i j no liope of a speedy termination of tho t war, being woiked b.'yoad my strength i 'and halt' starved, I determined to l-javo New Zealand and proceed so M-Jbouruo, ■ where I had aacersained I e mid obtam employment as a clerks man, and ir, was : the late Arehdeacun who must kindly j headed a suusciipti m lis;, with aj :generous contribution, and induced all! the Vuluntews in Now Plymouth to| forego otto day's pay each, *.o eiable; iiio, uiy wife, an.i sun to teach Aus-1 tvalia. I have never forgotten this »&. j of kindness on the part of (he Arch- j • deacon, and the Taiaaaki Voiuntoois, although is is now 43 yo -is sine- I i' Hjn'iHi (.uy of oii jiii. I ,<i«4 xkub'., j J* . iL. u bl,'Oiu -<i . j VitltsU .iiviijUUi'iiO; j

of the great pi-ogres* and pro9psrity of Turan: ki. I have visit-d >ll the shores of Australia, escaping QueauNlind.aud I el ju-ntiliad in Ntyin,; :hac while .New ZeLuid in the of ;«ustra-i.U-n, T>ri>vii:i i„ tu« garden of! Now Z::thrid, I iiava never | (!«a-.od 'ortJii! '•hi, I iver I' f your be-iutiful Province, in apivtidid elicit, pro)u;;tivtt soil, aWracliva scarry, and goneiou-i iniialii-arifca. I am now an' old roan (ovir 80 years of age), only two yearn you'i.cr ;>i=n the late Atehduiioon Govci't. I i.'tijoyed the intuinnoncy of the Holy Trinity Church, » Moluourne, for 30 years, and retired [ upon the superannuation fund sonue 11 ycara ago, wli'-n I fou- d my sni.g'h , failing m j , .md am now quiut y tt-.inug in my icir ra nt " tiil my call ihj'l come." —I am, e.f., J H. IS", WOLLASTON. , Malvern, 21st October, 1903.