FREDERICK AUGUSTUS BENNETT

Te Ao Hou, March 1959, Page 44

FREDERICK AUGUSTUS BENNETT by HEMI MATENGA The Bennett family has a tradition for “firsts”. John Boyle Bennett, a Doctor of Divinity and a Doctor of Medicine, emigrated to New Zealand at the invitation of Sir George Grey, to become the first Registrar General of New Zealand. He died in 1880 and is buried in the Bowen St. Cemetery, Wellington. His grandson, Frederick Augustus Bennett, became the first Maori Anglican Bishop when he was consecrated in the Napier Cathedral in 1929. His brother, Henry, was the first deputy Mayor of Wellington. Paratene, a son of Bishop Bennett's, obtained his commission in the Royal Navy, becoming the first Maori to do so. Now Charles Moihi Bennett, a brother of Para's has, with his appointment as High Commissioner for New Zealand in Malaya, become the first Maori to enter the diplomatic field. Fred Bennett spent his childhood at a little place called Te Mu, at Wairoa in the Rotorua district. His Irish father, Jackson Bennett, married Raiha Ratete, a high chieftainess of Te Arawa and from this union, the boy Fred received a thorough grounding in both English and Maori. As a mere child of nine or ten years of age, Freddie, as he was affectionately called by all who knew him, acted as interpreter to the elderly Maori folk who, in most cases, had no English. One can picture this child, surrounded by his tattooed elders, teaching them as best he could the rudiments of English. It is also possible to picture the older folk, sitting round in a semi circle, drinking in the pearls of pakeha wisdom that fell from the child's lips. This was to prove a great training ground for the able speaker and church leader he was later to become. One day, Bishop Suter, who was the Bishop of Nelson, accompanied by Archdeacon Chatterton, paid a visit to Te Mu after sending word that they intended holding a service there on the following Sunday. Freddie had never seen a pakeha Bishop, and, full of excitement, gathered the people round and announced the news of the Bishop's pending arrival. Immediately after the announcement, preparations were put in hand for the feast which would, as a matter of course, follow the service, conducted by such a celebrity. The eagerly awaited Sunday duly arrived and found young Freddie speeding along to ring the Church bell which was one of his self-imposed tasks. He became very attached to the little bell. Even as a youngster, Freddie had a sweet voice, an asset which he possessed to the end of his days and which was to change the whole course of his life, for when the Bishop and the Archdeacon heard his voice singing lustily a hymn called ‘Oti rawa’ they immediately began an unsuccessful search for the singer. Finally they departed, but the Bishop, as if drawn by some spiritual impulse, returned unannounced, and held another service. The same hymn was sung and on this occasion the Bishop managed to locate the singer. At the conclusion of the service the Bishop asked Freddie if he would like to go to Nelson with him and receive a pakeha education. Freddie quickly agreed but stipulated that it must be with his parents consent and forthwith, in his excitement, ran most of the fourteen miles to obtain it. This being granted, they eventually made their way down to Nelson. The Bishop, however, was faced with a problem, for he realised that he would have to notify Archdeacon Chatterton of his impending arrival and that he was bringing Freddie with him, but the Archdeacon was not aware of the boy's name. Finally he compromised by sending a wire saying that he would arrive on a certain day and that he was bringing ‘Oti rawa’ with him—the name of the hymn they had been singing at the service when they had first noticed the boy.