Missionary Settlement, Bay of Islands

Wesleyan Mission History at Aotea - By C.G.Hunt (1)

These notes are based on information gleaned from diaries and documents kindly lent to me by descentants of the missionaries mentioned.

Further information has been obtained from Morley's "HISTORY OF METHODISM IN NEW ZEALAND" and from "BRETT'S HISTORICAL SERIES" of 1890.

More recent facts have been obtained from local Maoris, notably Mrs Paewai Raumaka, and from my own observations in the locality. Local settlers too have been most helpful.

THE BEGINNINGS

The first Wesleyan Mission in New Zealand was established by the Rev. Samuel Leigh at Whangaroa in 1822. Ill health forced the Rev.Leigh to return to Australia and, shortly afterwards, the hostility of the Maoris forced the abandonment of the Mission which was ultimately destroyed.

Some months later a fresh start was made at Mangungu on the Hokianga Harbour and from then on the project flourished so much so that, by 1834, a number of Missions had been established north of the isthmus where Auckland now stands.

EXTENSIONS SOUTHWARD

Early in January 1834 the Rev. John Whiteley was sent on a reconnaisance to as far south as Kawhia. On his return to North Auckland he reported favourably on the prospects of extending the Society's activities to the southward and, at a meeting held on the 13th and 14th of February 1834, it was decided to establish missions at Raglan and Kawhia.

In August 1834 the C.M.S. had also sent a reconnaisance expedition into South Auckland and had reached Maungapouri on the junction of the Waipa and Puniu rivers where the first of their southern missions were later established. There was no disagreement among the Missionaries of the two Societies in New Zealand about these extensions and active steps were taken to establish the new Mission Stations pending approval from their respective missionary Committees in England.

The Rev. William Woon was sent to Kawhia in November 1834 and, a few months later, he was followed by the Revs. Whiteley and Wallis.

Whiteley moved to Kawhia South and Wallis proceeded by canoe and on foot to Raglan where he established his Mission on the north side of the harbour entrance which was then thickly populated by Maoris living in the vicinity of the Horea Pa; After a hut had been built for him by the natives he was joined by Mrs Wallis who was carried from Kawhia to Raglan in an improvised sedan chair.

Early in 1836 word was received from England that the Wesleyan Missions on the west coast were in Church Missionary " Society territory and had to be closed. Whiteley, Woon and Wallis withdrew to North Auckland and the Missions which they had established were abandoned much to their regret and to the Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society who were not in a position to take them over.

At a meeting held in North Auckland in October 1838 these territorial differences were amicably settled and Whiteley returned to Kawhia. Wallis also returned to Raglan but this time built his Mission on the south side of the harbour entrance at Nihinihi.

MISSION SHIP AND EXTRA HELPERS

The expansion of the Missions southward placed a great burden on the missioners available as the means of travel were very limited and distances becoming greater every year. Accordingly the Wesleyan Missionary Society in England decided to purchase a ship to transport personnel and goods to the various stations in the South Seas.

This ship, the TRITON, sailed from Bristol on September 14th 1839 bearing a large quantity of goods and a number of additional Mission helpers. She arrived at Mangungu on May 9th, 1840.

The Journal of the voyage of the TRITON to New Zealand is now in the possession of one of the descendants of the Rev. Gideon Smales who was a passenger on board and it it records not only the events of the trip but also the names of all those on board, both passengers, and crew.

In addition to the Rev. Gideon Smales, who was then a single man, the passenger list includes the names of the Rev. and Mrs. H.H. Turton and the Rev. and Mrs. T. Buddle.

The Rev. H. Hansen Turton is described in the "HISTORY OF METHODISM IN NEW ZEALAND" as a man of good presence, pleasant address, and somewhat scholarly tastes. These attributes enabled him later to distinguish himself in a public controversy with Bishop Selwyn on "Sacerdotal Assumptions" He served at a number of Mission stations in New Zealand and became such a master of the Maori language that he later entered the Government service as an interpreter.

The Rev. Gideon Smales was born at Whitby - Yorkshire, on October 26th 1817, ordained as a Minister of the Wesleyan Church at the Liverpool Conference in 1837. He arrived in New Zealand in May 1840 and, later in the same year, married Mary Anna Bumby, the sister of the Rev. John Bumby who had been tragically drowned near. Tamaki on June 26th, 1840.

The Rev. Thomas Buddle was a native of the County of Durham who was converted when in his teens and became a preacher shortly afterwards.

Acquiring a knowledge of the Maori language very quickly he later aided in the revision of the Maori translation of the Scriptures. Though he served as a Missioner for only about five years he became one of the foremost Church leaders in the Colony at a later period and never lost his interest in the Maori people.

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