New Zealand Church Missionary Society

The New Zealand Church Missionary Society is a mission society working within the Anglican Communion and Protestant, Evangelical Anglicanism. The parent organisation was founded in England in 1799. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) sent missionaries to settle in New Zealand. The Rev. Samuel Marsden, the Society's Agent and the Senior Chaplain to the New South Wales government, officiated at its first service on Christmas Day in 1814, at Oihi Bay in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

History of the New Zealand Church Missionary Society

In 1892, Mr. Eugene Stock and the Rev. Robert Stewart were sent to Australia and New Zealand by the parent CMS organisation to facilitate the formation of Church Missionary Associations in both Australia and New Zealand, in order that those associations would select, train and send out missionaries. In 1892 the New Zealand Church Missionary Association was formed in a Nelson church hall. Funding from the UK stopped completely in 1903. The association was established under the sanction of the Bishops of Waiapu and Nelson, with the Rev. Frederick William Chatterton as Clerical Secretary, and Mr. J. Holloway as Lay Secretary and Treasurer. The association provided workers for the Maori Mission, for the Melanesian Mission, for the CMS Missions in China, Japan, India and Africa, and also for the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society. In 1893 Miss Marie Louise Pasley, the first missionary candidate, was selected, and who was subsequently sent to Japan.

The association subsequent changed its name to the New Zealand Church Missionary Society (NZCMS) in 1916. In 2000 the NZCMS amalgamated with the South American Missionary Society of New Zealand. The NZCMS works closely with the Anglican Missions Board, concentrating on mission work outside New Zealand and has been involved in Pakistan, East Africa, the Middle East, Cambodia, South Asia, South America and East Asia. It is part of the CMS Mission Network and the global network of mission agencie
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History of the CMS mission in New Zealand

Founding of the CMS mission in New Zealand

The CMS founded its first mission at Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands in 1814 and over the next decade established farms and schools in the area. Thomas Kendall and William Hall were directed to proceed to the Bay of Islands in the ''Active'', a vessel purchased by Samuel Marsden for the service of the mission, there to reopen communication with Ruatara, a local chief; an earlier attempt to establish a mission in the Bay of Islands had been delayed as a consequence of the Boyd Massacre in Whangaroa harbour in 1809. Kendall and Hall left New South Wales on 14 March 1814 on the ''Active'' for an exploratory journey to the Bay of Islands. They met ''rangatira'' (chiefs) of the Ngāpuhi including Ruatara and his uncle Hongi Hika; Hongi Hika and Ruatara travelled with Kendall when he returned to Australia on 22 August 1814. Kendall, Hall and John King, returned to the Bay of Islands on the ''Active'' on 22 December 1814 to establish the Oihi Mission. The protector of the Kerikeri mission station was the chief Ruatara and following his death in 1815, Hongi Hika accepted responsibility for the protection of the mission.

In April 1817 William Carlisle, and his brother-in-law Charles Gordon, joined the mission from New South Wales. Carlisle was engaged as a schoolteacher and Gordon is engaged for the purpose of teaching agriculture, they remained at the mission until 1819. In 1819 Marsden made his second visit to New Zealand, bringing with him John Gare Butler as well as Francis Hall and James Kemp as lay settlers. William Puckey, a boatbuilder and carpenter, came with his family, including William Gilbert Puckey to assist in putting up the buildings at Kerikeri. In 1820, Marsden paid his third visit, on HMS ''Dromedary'', bringing James Shepherd.

Butler and Kemp took charge of the Kerikeri mission, but proved unable to develop a harmonious working relationship, and from 1822 to 1823 Butler was in dispute with Marsden. In 1823, Marsden paid his fourth visit, bringing with him Henry Williams and his wife Marianne as well as Richard Davis, a farmer, and William Fairburn, a carpenter, and their respective families. In 1826 Henry's brother William and his wife Jane joined the CMS mission and settled at Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The immediate protector of the Paihia mission was the chief, Te Koki, and his wife Ana Hamu, a woman of high rank and the owner of the land occupied by the mission.

Work of the CMS mission in New Zealand

The CMS Mission House in Kerikeri, completed in 1822, ranks as New Zealand's oldest surviving building.
In the early days the CMS funded its activities largely through trade. Thomas Kendall sold weapons to Māori people, with muskets being the primary item traded by whaling and sealing ships for food; with this trade in weapons resulting in the Musket Wars (1807–1842). Kendall brought Māori war-chief Hongi Hika to London in 1820, creating a minor sensation. When Henry Williams became the leader of the missionaries at Paihia in 1823, he immediately stopped the trade in muskets.Mitcalfe, Barry – ''Nine New Zealanders'', Christchurch 1963. p. 34 The mission schools provided religious education and literacy skills in the Māori language, as well as English language skills. Karaitiana Rangi was the first person baptised, which occurred in 1825. However the evangelical mission of the CMS achieved success only after the baptism of Ngāpuhi chief Rawiri Taiwhanga in 1830. His example influenced others to be baptised into the Christian faith.Dench, Alison, ''Essential Dates: A timeline of New Zealand history'', Random House, 2005 The CMS established farms at Kerikeri and at Te Waimate mission and engaged workers from Sydney to assist in the farming; William Spikeman, a herdsman, arrived in 1833.Gillies, Iain and John (1998) - ''East Coast Pioneers. A Williams Family Portrait; A Legacy of Land, Love and Partnership''. p. 27/8. Published by The Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd, Gladstone Road, Gisborne NZ (1998) In 1833 a mission was established at Kaitaia in Northland as well as a mission at Puriri on the Waihou River. In 1835 missions were established in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions at Tauranga, Matamata and Rotorua. The possessions of these missions were plundered during an inter-tribal war between the Māori people of Matamata, Rotorua and the Waikato river. In 1836 a mission was open in the Manukau Harbour region.

Salary and allowances of CMS missionaries

In 1832 the salary of single laymen or catechist was £30 per annum; a married couple were paid £50 p.a.. Ordained ministers were paid £80 p.a.. All children received a free education, with board, at the CMS school at Te Waimate mission. Children under school age had an allowance of £10. After that £18 was allowed for each child up to the age of fifteen.

The CMS provided rations to the missionary families of of flour per week for a male, and for a female, with half ration for each child up to seven or eight years of age. There was an allowance of sugar, tea and soap, but if mustard, pepper, vinegar and other luxuries were required, these had to be purchased from the mission store.

''Herald''

Henry Williams commissioned a ship to provision the Paihia Mission and to visit the more remote areas of New Zealand to bring the Gospel to the Māori people. William Hall, William Puckey (Senior), William Gilbert Puckey designed and built , a 55-ton schooner. Gilbert Mair, who became her sailing master, and Māori carpenters also worked on ''Herald''s construction.

''Herald'' was launched on 24 January 1826. ''Herald'' went to Sydney, Australia four times; the Bay of Plenty four times; and sailed three times around the North Cape, to Hokianga Harbour on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. On 6 May 1828 ''Herald'' was wreaked on the Hokianga bar.

Translation of the Bible into the Māori language

The first book published in the Māori language was ''A Korao no New Zealand! The New Zealanders First Book!'', published by Thomas Kendall in 1815. In 1817 Tītore and Tui (also known as Tuhi or Tupaea (1797?-1824)) sailed to England.NZETC: Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century, 1816
/ref> They visited Professor Samuel Lee at Cambridge University and assisted him in the preparation of a grammar and vocabulary of Māori. Kendall travelled to London in 1820 with Hongi Hika and Waikato (a lower ranking Ngāpuhi chief) during which time work was done with Professor Samuel Lee, which resulted in the ''First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language'' (1820). The CMS missionaries did not have a high regard for this book. Williams organised the CMS missionaries into a systematic study of the language and soon started translating the Bible into Māori. After 1826 William Williams became involved in the translation of the Bible and other Christian literature, with Henry Williams devoting more time to his efforts to establish CMS missions in the Waikato, Rotorua and Bay of Plenty.

]
In July 1827 William Colenso printed the first Māori Bible, comprising three chapters of Genesis, the 20th chapter of Exodus, the first chapter of the Gospel of St John, 30 verses of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, the Lord’s Prayer and some hymns.Gillies 1995, p. 48 It was the first book printed in New Zealand and his 1837 Māori New Testament was the first indigenous language translation of the Bible published in the southern hemisphere. pp 20-110

By 1830 the CMS missionaries had revised the orthography for writing the Māori language; for example, ‘Kiddeekiddee’ became, what is the modern spelling, ‘ Kerikeri’.

In 1830 during William Yate's stay in Sydney, New South-Wales, he supervised the printing of an edition of 550 copies of a translation of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis; the first eight chapters of the Gospel according to St. Matthew; the first four chapters of the Gospel according to St. John; the first six chapters of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians; parts of the Liturgy and Catechism.

William Gilbert Puckey collaborating with William Williams on the translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1837 and its revision in 1844. William Williams published the ''Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar'' in 1844.

The translation and printing of the Book of Common Prayer was completed by November 1841. The greater number of the Collects were translated by the Rev. William Williams; the Sacramental and Matrimonial Services by William Puckey; and the remaining Collects, with the Epistles from the Old Testament, Thanksgivings, and Prayers, Communion of the Sick, Visitation of the Sick, Commination, Rubrics, and Articles of Religion, by William Colenso. From May to September 1844 a committee consisted of Archdeacon William Williams, the Rev. Robert Maunsell, James Hamlin, and William Puckey revising the translation of the Common-Prayer Book.

After 1844 Robert Maunsell worked with William Williams on the translation of the Bible, with Maunsell working on the translation of the Old Testament, portions of which were published in 1840. In 1845 the Book of Common Prayer was translated by a committee comprising William Williams, Robert Maunsell, James Hamlin and William Puckey. The full translation of the Bible into the Māori language was completed in 1857.

The Rev. William Williams and the Rev. T. W. Meller M.A., the Editorial Superintendent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, worked to revise the translation of the New Testament. In 1853, 15,000 copies were printed in England. These copies, when circulated, made the total number of 106,221 copies of the New Testament printed in the Māori language and distributed by the CMS and Wesleyan Missionary Society in New Zealand. In the early 1860s Elizabeth Fairburn Colenso helped prepare the revised Māori Old Testament and New Testament for the press. She correcting the printed copy, sometimes suggesting alternative translations. The first edition of the full Māori Bible was published in 1868.

Influence of the CMS in New Zealand

The concern about the European impact on New Zealand, particularly lawlessness among Europeans and a breakdown in the traditional restraints in Māori society, meant that the CMS welcomed the United Kingdom's annexation of New Zealand in January 1840, with Henry Williams assisting Captain William Hobson by translating the document that became known as the Treaty of Waitangi. Henry Williams was also involved in explaining the treaty to Māori leaders, firstly at the meetings with William Hobson at Waitangi, but also later when he travelled to Port Nicholson, Queen Charlotte's Sound, Kapiti, Waikanae and Otaki to persuade Māori chiefs to sign the treaty. His involvement in these debates brought him "into the increasingly uncomfortable role of mediating between two races".

The CMS missionaries held the low church beliefs that were common among the 19th century Evangelical members of the Anglican Church. There was often a wide gap between the views of the CMS missionaries and the bishops and other clergy of the high church traditions of the Oxford Movement (also known as the Tractarians) as to the proper form of ritual and religious practice. Bishop Selwyn, who was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand in 1841, held the high church (Tracharian) views, although he appointed CMS missionaries to positions in the Anglican Church of New Zealand including appointing William Williams as the first Bishop of Waiapu.

The CMS reached the height of its influence in New Zealand in the 1840s and 1850s. Missions covered almost the whole of the North Island and many Māori were baptised. The number of Māori who attended public worship at CMS churches was estimated at 50,000 and the Communicants at between 5,000 and 6,000. Māori converts engaged in missionary work. Te Manihera and Kereopa were killed in 1847 when they travelled onto the land of hostile Māori. However the murderers later welcomed a Christian missionary to reside in their land.

The efforts of the CMS resulted in the ordination of Māori clergy: Rota Waitoa was ordained in 1853; Riwai Te Ahu in 1858; Raniera Kawhia, Hohua Te Moanaroa, Heta Tarawhiti and Pirimona Te Karari in 1860; Tamihana Huata, Ihaia Te Ahu, Matiu Taupaki and Piripi Patiki in 1861; Matiaha Pahewa in 1863; Mohi Turei, Hare Tawhaa and Watene Moeke in 1864; Rihara Te Rangamaro in 1866; Renata Tangata and Raniera Wiki in 1867; Wiremu Katene Paraire and Hone Pohutu in 1870; Rawiri Te Wanui, Heneri Te Herekau, Wiremu Turipona and Wiremu Pomare in 1872.

Early CMS personnel in New Zealand

The CMS provided training for missionaries at the Church Missionary Society College, Islington, London. Bishop George Selwyn established St. John’s College at Te Waimate mission in June 1842 to provide theology to candidates for ordination into the Anglican Church. In 1844 Bishop Selwyn moved St John’s College to Auckland. The CMS in London began to reduce its commitment to the CMS mission in New Zealand in 1854, and no further missionaries were sent out until Joseph Sydney Hill and William Goodyear arrived in 1878; they were the last CMS missionaries sent out from England. Members of the mission who arrived before 1854 included:
* The Reverend Benjamin Yate Ashwell and his wife Harriet Elizabeth arrived in 1835, and worked from 1839 at Kaitotehe Mission near Mount Taupiri and at Otawhao in the valley of the Waipā River; and remained at that mission into the 1840s. In 1846 he was located at the Kaitotehe Mission. Died 29 September 1883.
* The Rev. Charles Baker and his wife Hannah arrived on 9 June 1828, and worked at Kerikeri; then at Kororareka (Russell); and they were at the mission station at Uawa (Tolaga Bay) from 1843 to 1851. Died 6 February 1875.
* The Rev. Ralph Barker and his wife Mary Ann arrived in November 1850 and was appointed to East Cape; where he remained until 1852. He ended his connection with the CMS in 1854.
* The Rev. Alfred Nesbit Brown and his wife Charlotte arrived in October 1829. He was put in charge of the school at Paihia. In 1835 he opened a mission station at Matamata and from 1838 he was working at Te Papa Mission at Tauranga. In 1843 he was ordained as Archdeacon of Tauranga. In 1846 he was assisted by the Rev. C.P. Davies. Died 7 September 1884.
* The Rev. Robert Burrows and his wife Charlotte Eliza arrived in 1840; He was appointed a deacon on 10 June 1838 and ordained a priest on 26 May 1839. He was at Kororareka (Russell) in 1845. From 1845 - 1852 he worked at Te Waimate mission. Died 22 August 1897.
* The Rev. John Gare Butler and his wife Hannah arrived 12 August 1819. Butler ceased working for the CMS in 1822.
* The Rev. Thomas Chapman and his wife Anne Maria arrived in 1830 and established a mission station at Rotorua in 1835; and remained at that mission into the 1840s. In 1844 he attended the St. John's College at Te Waimate Mission and on 22 September 1844 he was appointed a deacon. On 6 June 1852 he was ordained a priest. He worked at the Rotorua Mission until 1861 when he moved to Auckland where he continued to work for the CMS as a teacher at St. Stephen School for Native Girls in Parnell. Died 22 December 1876.
* The Rev. George Clarke and his wife Martha and family (including their son George Clarke jr.) arrived on 4 April 1824. George was trained as a blacksmith and was appointed to Kerikeri, then he worked at Te Waimate mission from 1830 to 1840. Their son Edward Bloomfield Clarke joined the CMS in 1849.
* The Rev. William Colenso arrived in December 1834 to work as a printer and catechist. William and Elizabeth Colenso worked at the Waitangi Mission at Awatoto, Mission from 1844 Napier from 1844, until William Colenso was dismissed from the CMS in 1852.
* Elizabeth Fairburn Colenso was the daughter of Sarah Tuckwell and her husband, William Fairburn. She was born at the CMS mission at Kerikeri. She became fluent in Māori. She married William Colenso on 27 April 1843. Following his ordination as a deacon in September 1844, they established the Waitangi mission station at Awatoto in Hawke's Bay. She became aware that William was the father of Wiremu, a child born in 1850 to Ripeka Meretene, who was a member of the household. Only after William’s adultery became public knowledge in 1853 did they separate. Elizabeth continued to work for the CMS as a teacher at the Kaitotehe Mission near Mount Taupiri in the Waikato. In the 1860s she work on the manuscripts of the translation of the Bible into a Māori, including correcting proofs and suggesting alternative translations.
* The Rev. Richard Davis and his wife Mary arrived on 7 May 1824. He was a farmer and established a garden at the Paihia Mission. In 1830 he established a farm at Te Waimate mission and remained there until 1845. He was ordained on Trinity Sunday 1843. He was appointed to Kaikohe from 1845 to 1854, then he returned to Te Waimate Mission from 1854 to 1863. Died 28 May 1863.
* The Rev. Christopher Pearson Davies, a surgeon, studied for his ordination in 1844 at St John’s College, when it was located at Te Waimate. He married Marianne Williams, a daughter of Henry Williams and his wife Marianne. In 1846 Davies was at the Tuaranga Mission, and after that until 1856 he was at the Opotiki Mission. Died 2/3 March 1861.
* The Rev. William Charles Dudley and his wife Elizabeth arrived in 1842. Dudley worked at Te Papa Mission at Tauranga, Wairoa and the Kaweranga Mission on the Hauraki Gulf

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