Commemorations

May 12

Samuel Marsden

Priest and Missionary

The Apostle of New Zealand
Samuel Marsden has been described as the apostle to New Zealand. It is by no means an inappropriate term, for it was through Marsden’s determination and initiative that the first Christian mission was established in New Zealand.
Samuel Marsden was born on 25 June 1765 at Farsley in West Yorkshire, and it was there that he grew up. He encountered the religious revivals of the eighteenth century, including Methodism, though in 1786 he accepted the help of the Elland Society to train as an evangelical clergyman. In Yorkshire and then in Cambridge he came in contact with members of the growing evangelical circle of the Church of England, who were committed to vital personal religion and social reform, including the abolition of slavery.
Before completing his degree, Marsden was invited in 1793, through the influence of William Wilberforce, to become chaplain to the penal colony in New South Wales. He and his wife Elizabeth arrived in Sydney in March 1794. There Marsden joined Richard Johnson. They were the clergy to the colony, Johnson at Sydney and Marsden at Parramatta, 35 kilometres inland. For some time after Johnson returned to England in 1800, Marsden looked after both districts.
Three things dominated Marsden’s life at Parramatta. He became involved in farming, and enjoyed it immensely, both for itself and as a benefit to the new community. He proved to be one of the most skilful farmers in the district. Secondly, he accepted appointment as a magistrate, perhaps unwisely, for it allied him firmly with the governor and other officials against the mainly Irish convicts, and damaged his reputation as a chaplain to all in the colony. Partly in reaction to this, and partly because of his own evangelical convictions, in the third important development, he became closely associated with the London Missionary Society, of which he was the official local agent for the Pacific from 1804.
It was to Parramatta that some visiting Maori from New Zealand began to come soon after Marsden’s arrival. He made them welcome and provided them with accommodation, and they visited him in his new Church of St John at Parramatta. Marsden was impressed by these visitors and determined to find some means of benefitting them by the arts of civilisation and the good news of the gospel. With this in mind, Marsden went to England in 1807 and put to the Church Missionary Society a proposal for a mission. Since clergy were reluctant to take on such arduous duties, Marsden formed the idea of a mission of artisans who could lay the foundations for civilisation, teach useful techniques, and be ambassadors for the gospel.
Marsden obtained the permission he sought and returned to Australia in 1809 with William Hall and John King and their families on the “Ann”. It was on this journey that Marsden renewed his acquaintance with the Nga Puhi chief Ruatara, who had travelled to England to see King George III, and who had been put on board the “Ann’, in poor health and with his goal not achieved. Ruatara had been one of those who had spent time with Marsden at Parramatta. Marsden nursed Ruatara back to health, and realised that in this encounter he had potentially solved the problem of protection for his missionaries in New Zealand.
Back in Parramatta, Marsden faced new difficulties. In the wake of the “Boyd’ incident, no captain would venture near New Zealand. Marsden bought the “Active”, and sent Hall and King, with the addition of Thomas Kendall, who had joined them, on an exploratory journey to the Bay of Islands. Towards the end of 1814, Marsden was finally able to take Kendall, Hall and King and their families to Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands, where they would be under the protection of Ruatara. He then launched the mission with a service on Christmas Day 1814. After some further exploratory visits in the area, he returned to Australia and his duties as chaplain there.

Marsden returned to New Zealand on six further visits of varying length. He came bringing new missionaries; he came to settle disputes and discipline the missionaries who engaged in trade in arms, to encourage and exhort, to organise the work, and to deepen his acquaintance with his Maori friends. In the early years, he countered the refusal of Governor Macquarie to let him go to New Zealand by accepting increasing numbers of Maori at Parramatta and teaching them agricultural and other skills there.

After 1823, when the New Zealand mission was given more adequate local leadership by Henry Williams, Marsden’s visits had a more relaxed style in which he could indulge more his fascination with the country and its people. His final visit in February to June 1837 had the air of a triumphal procession. Marsden was now almost seventy-two and was received with great deference by Maori chiefs in the north, and visited as many as possible of the mission stations. He was blunt and plainspoken and could be touchy, but was without pretensions; he was very generous with his time and his money in the cause that was so dear to his heart. He died on 12 May 1838 and was buried in the churchyard at Parramatta.
For Liturgical Use

Samuel Marsden began the first Christian mission in New Zealand. He was born in 1765 and became chaplain of the penal colony in New South Wales in 1794. There he met and welcomed Maori visitors and conceived the idea of a mission to New Zealand. Having obtained the backing of the Church Missionary Society for his project, Marsden set up the first mission station in New Zealand under the protection of the Nga Puhi chief Ruatara in the Bay of Islands in 1814. Marsden returned to New Zealand on six further visits to oversee the mission. He died on 12 May 1838.

Sentence

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, says the Lord. Isaiah 45:22

Collects

Gracious and eternal God, you called Samuel Marsden to lead the first mission to the Maori people; grant that, following in his footsteps, we may bring to this land the good news of great joy in Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Jesus, you send your apostles to bring good tidings. When Samuel came to Aotearoa, the task was more difficult than he supposed. Prince of peace, when Maori and pakeha meet together, keep us humble, we pray.
Psalms 96 100
Readings

Isaiah 49:1-6 The spread of good news

2 Corinthians 4:540 The pain of apostleship

Luke 2:8-14 News of great joy

Post Communion Sentence

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1

May 13

Ihaia Te Ahu

Missionary, Priest in Te Arawa

Ihaia Te Ahu, one of the earliest of the Maori clergy, was a missionary to the people of Te Arawa for more than 50 years. He was born about 1823 into the Te Uri Taniwha hapu of Nga Puhi in the Okaihau area. In 1833 he joined Thomas Chapman, one of the lay missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, at Kerikeri and lived with the Chapmans at Kerikeri and then Paihia. When Thomas and Anne Chapman moved to Rotorua in 1835 to found the first mission station there, Ihaia went with them and worked as a missionary assistant. He married Rangirauaka of Ngati Riripo, and both were baptised by A. N. Brown on 9 May 1841. That was when he took the name Ihaia (Isaiah). By 1845 he was Chapman’s leading teacher and was entrusted with conducting the Sunday services when Chapman was absent. Chapman himself noted that Ihaia’s abilities were “fully acknowledged around by all”. As a Nga Puhi from the north, Ihaia was able to move with some freedom during the tribal conflicts in the Rotorua area.

When the Chapmans moved to Maketu in the Bay of Plenty in 1846, Ihaia and his family again accompanied them. In 1857 he began preparing for ordination. He went first with his family to Tauranga to study under A. N. Brown, and then, during the autumn and winter of 1858, he went to St Stephen’s School, Auckland. There he came first in a class examination and was given a Bible as his prize. Poor health forced him to return to Maketu before his studies were completed. He returned to mission work and eventually took over from Chapman when the latter returned to Auckland in 1861. On 3 November 1861 Ihaia was ordained deacon by Bishop William Williams.
Ihaia continued to work at Maketu and was responsible for the building of St Thomas’ Church there, which was opened in 1869. Ihaia was not always confident about the success of the mission. He spent time at Rotorua, and was appointed the first vicar of the Ohinemutu pastorate in Rotorua in 1882. One of his first tasks was to start a drive to build a church. Although the Chapmans had established a mission station in Rotorua in 1835, mission work in the area suffered as a result of the disturbances during the 1860s. The people of Te Arawa had seen something of “the hollowness of the Christianity of civilised men”. The Hauhau movement and the events surrounding Te Kooti had also contributed to the unsettled state of affairs.
Ihaia had virtually to re-establish the work of the church in the Rotorua area. This he did to great effect, so that he became known as the “hero of missionary effort” in Rotorua. His plans to build a church came to fruition with the consecration of St Faith’s Church, Ohinemutu, on 15 March 1885, by Bishop B.C. Stuart of Waiapu. The extent of his influence can be gauged from the following lines:

Kaore te aroha ki te kororia tapu

E waewae ake ana i te ara kuiti!

Nau mai, e tama, ka haere taua i ki a Ihaia kia monitatia i,

Kia huihui tatou ko he nohoanga nui ei, kia hopukia iho te kupu a te Atua i, kia awhi taua ki a Ihu Karaiti ei, kia murua te hara i taku tinana nei!
How much I love the holy glory that clears the narrow path!

Come, my son, and we will go to be ministered to by Ihaia!

We will meet together and long remain, we will grasp the word of the Lord and embrace Jesus Christ, and my sins will be forgiven!
Ihaia left Ohinemutu in 1889. He served briefly at St Stephen’s

College, Auckland, but had retired by 1892 and moved to Kaikohe.

He died there on 7 July 1895 and was buried near Kaikohe.

Ihaia is commemorated on 13 May. This date marks the beginning of a series of commemorations of Maori Christians from 13 to 18 May. These Maori were chosen from many Maori Christians of their time as representative of the outstanding Maori witness that caused the gospel to be sown and take root in many parts of the whole country.

For Liturgical Use

Ihaia Te Ahu of Nga Puhi was one of the earliest of the Maori clergy. He joined Thomas Chapman of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands as a small boy, and later went with Chapman to Rotorua and then to Maketu in the Bay of Plenty. On Chapman’s retirement in 1861 Ihaia was ordained, serving first in Maketu and then in 1882 becoming the first vicar of the Ohinemutu pastorate. Ihaias godly, patient ministry in complex and challenging circumstances eventually became very influential. He died in 1895.

Sentence:

A e ruia ana nga hua o te tika i roto i te rangimarie ma te hunga

hohou rongo. Hemi 3:18
A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who

make peace. James 3:18

Collects

E te Wairua kaihanga, nau a Ihaia i karanga hei minita mo te Rongopai, a, i hoatu ki a ia etahi koha papai; Manaakitia nga minita o to hahi e mahi nei i roto i te iwi Maori, kia pono ratou ki a koe; ko Ihu Karaiti, hoki te Hepara Pai. Amine.
Loving God, you gave your servant Ihaia grace to serve your church faithfully for many years; grant us a like zeal in the proclamation of the gospel, that the people of our day may hear the good news; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Good shepherd, accept our grateful thanks

for Ihaia’s patient ministry to the embittered; and we praise you that with him they grasped your word, and were restored in their love for you.
Psalms: 19 133
Readings

Proverbs 4:1-9 Wisdom and understanding

2 Timothy 1:3-7 Sincere faith

Mark 6:7-13 Proclaim the gospel

Post Communion Sentence

Kia pono koe a mate noa, a maku e hoatu ki a koe te karauna o te

ora. Whakakitenga 2:10
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revelation 2:10
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May 14

Ngakuku

Missionary in Mataatua
Was a chief of Waikato from the Ngatj Haua people living near Waharoa. We are dependent almost entirely on mission records for details of his life, in particular the diaries of the Church Missionary Society. ‘Missionary A.N Brown Brown was stationed at Matamata from 1835 till October 1836, then at Te Papa, Tauranga from January 1838 till his death in 1884. In his diary for 24 June 1835 he notes:

Ngakuku very ill,… quite insane, but still he insists upon being led to attend prayers whenever he hears the bell ring, The Maori’s say he is visited with this severe illness for attending the Missionaries’ Karakia (Service) and for putting aside native superstitions.

On 30 June he notes that Ngakuku “is gradually recovering his strength” Then on 24 August Brown records:

Met my little band of three enquirers this evening ... I was speaking to them on their duty of persevering in the course they had entered upon “Looking unto Jesus” for support and strength. Ngaku remarked, “That is very good. If I plant potatoes with no heart to my work, my crop is scanty, but if I labour hard and my heart is very large, then my crop is large. I suppose it is the same in spiritual things.”

On 22 January 1836 Brown reported that there was a hui (gathering) to discuss the murder of a chief. He comments:

The Chiefs whilst speaking held some instrument of war in their hands. Ngaku had in his the Scriptures and in allusion to it remarked, ‘This is the two barrelled gun and the cartridge box and the war axe of the Believer.

In April of that year Brown reports that Ngakuku “put away one his two wives immediately on his professing a desire to become a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ” On the first anniversary of his arrival in the Matamata area, Brown lists Ngakuku as one of the two men for whom “we have reason to hope the Gospel is proving under the influence of the Holy Spirit, a saviour of life into life….”
Frequent intertribal skirmishes in the district led to the decision to close the mission station at Matamata and evacuate the school children. On the 18th October 1836 Ngakuku left with John Flatt, one of the missionaries and 20 children to travel from Matamata to Tauranga. They stopped in the Kaimai Ranges overnight and were attacked by a war party from Rotorua, and Ngakuku’s daughter Tarore was killed (see 19 October). At 9 a.m. the next day Ngakuku returned to Matamata carrying his daughter Tarore’s body from which some parts had been removed for a sacrifice.
At her burial Ngakuku urged that there be no revenge but the making of peace. He commended trust in God rather than human Utu (revenge). Archdeacon Brown records the occasion for 20th October as follows.

Buried poor Tarore at the pa. Those who so narrowly escaped sharing a like death, followed the corpse to the grave. . . . After singing a hymn and addressing the assembled party, Ngakuku asked me if he might also say a few words, and on my assenting, he said with deep solemnity of feeling, “There lies my child; she has been murdered as a payment for your bad conduct. But do not you rise to seek payment for her. God will do that. Let this be the finishing of the war with Rotorua. Now let peace be made. My heart is not dark for Tarore but for you. You urged teachers to come to you - they came - and now you are driving them away. You are crying for my girl. I am crying for you, for myself, for all of us. Perhaps this murder is a sign of God’s anger towards us for our sins. Turn to him. Believe, or you will all perish.”

Brown attributed this remarkable plea to the work of the Holy Spirit. Ngakuku was eventually baptised on Good Friday 1839. He took the baptismal name of William Marsh, William from Henry and William Williams, and Marsh because that was the name of A. N. Brown’s only son.
Ngakuku was a keen traveller, and on more than one occasion Brown cautioned him “lest he should acquire a vagrancy of habit that would prove detrimental to his growth in grace”. Nevertheless, Ngakuku helped to found the Opotiki mission station and was a teacher there before J.A.Wi1son took up residence. He also frequently accompanied Archdeacon Brown on his journeys and assisted wherever he could in forwarding the work of the missionaries, including work in the Te Whaiti area of the Uruwera Range. Ngakuku was also asked to Tolaga Bay to teach and preach there. In later years as Archdeacon Brown was confined to Tauranga by his bad eyesight, it was Ngakuku and others who carried on the work further afield.
Uita, the man who was responsible for Tarore’s death and who took her New Testament from under her, is said to have had the gospel read to him by a slave called Ripahau. He was moved by what he heard to a sense of repentance for Tarore’s death, and was converted to Christianity. This experience led Uita to send a message asking if he could visit the church at Ngakuku’s pa to worship and to confess his faith in God. After some hesitation on the part of Ngakuku’s people, his request was granted. He arrived at the pa a visibly changed man and asked Ngakuku in great humility to forgive him. It is said that they knelt in the little church and prayed together.
It is not known when Ngakuku died, but he is remembered as a faithful witness to the gospel.
For Liturgical Use

Ngakuku was a Ngati Haua chief of the Waikato. His links with the gospel began with the missionary education of his daughter Tarore at Matamata. He was baptised on Good Friday 1839. He accompanied Archdeacon A.N. Brown on some missionary journeys and also became a missionary in his own right in the Bay of Plenty, Uruwera, and East Coast areas. He was involved in pioneer work in the Opotiki area. After the tragic death of his daughter in a raid in 1836, he was able to forgive those who took her life and encouraged others to do likewise.

Sentence

Kia houhia ai ano hoki e ia te rongo a te tokorua ki Te Atua i roto i te tinana kotahi, he meatanga na te ripeka, ma reira hoki e whakamate te mauahara.

Epeha 2:16

Christ reconciled both Gentiles and Jews to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death the hostility through it.

Ephesians 2:16 (adapted)

Collects

E te Ariki,

na tau apotoro te ki kia kaua e utua he kino ki te kino, he taunu ki te taunu engari me manaaki; e whakapai atu ana matou ki a koe mo nga mahi a to pononga a Ngakuku, nana nei i toha te rangimarie ki nga iwi katoa i roto i te kaha o ou Wairua Tapu. Kua hanga matou e koe hei toto kotahi i raro i tenei whakaaro kotahi. Amine.
Lord God,

you have taught us not to repay evil with evil, but rather to bless;

we thank you for the life and witness of Ngakuku who proclaimed peace to all people in the power of your Holy Spirit; you have made us of one blood, make us also of one mind, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Loving, forgiving God,

glorified in Ngakuku the chief, the Christian minister,

may our shared forgiveness lead like his to peace and reconciliation.
Psalms 103 130
Readings

2 Samuel 14:4-11 Revenge withheld

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 Be reconciled to God

Luke 17:1-4 Forgiveness

Post Communion Sentence

Ka koa te hunga hohou rongo: ka huaina hoki ratou he tamariki na te Atua.

Matiu 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.

MattheW 5:9

May 15

Piripi Taumata-a-kura

Missionary in Ngati Porou
When some members of the Nga Puhi tribe returned to the Bay of Islands after a visit to the East Coast, a chief among them called on William Williams in 1837 and asked why there were no missionaries on the East Coast, especially as the Maori people there met regularly for worship and did no work on Sundays. William Williams of course wanted to know how this had come about. The chief told him that it was due to the dedicated work of Taumata-a-kura, a member of Ngati Porou from Waiapu.

Taumata-a-kura had been born at Whakawhitira near the Waiapu River, probably before 1800. When Nga Puhi raided Waiapu in 1823, he was taken to the Bay of Islands as a captive. A different tradition states he was a guest of Pomare I in the Bay of Islands. He learned to read and write at the mission school in Waimate, though he was not baptised there, and did not seem very interested in Christianity at the time. William Williams arranged for the return of the East Coast Maori to their home at the end of 1833, and Taumata-a-kura was able to return home with them.

Back at Whakawhitira, Taumata-a-kura worked hard to pass on what he had learned. He taught and preached and used some short prayers and hymns and some biblical texts written on scraps of paper, which were greatly venerated by the people. He began his teaching, according to Ngati Porou tradition, at Te Ahikoareare pa at Whakawhitira. A large assembly house was put up for his use. He used to begin his meetings by saying, “I have come from Ken Ken and from Paihia and I have seen Williams of the four eyes’ (a reference to Henry Williams, who wore spectacles). So great was his commitment to what he had been taught that he persuaded his people not to work on Saturdays as well as Sundays, and sometimes people sat still for the entire two days.
He greatly enhanced his influence as a result of what he succeeded in doing in 1836 during a tribal feud between Ngati Porou and Te Whanau-a-Apanui. lie agreed to take part only if there was no cannabilism and no wanton destruction of canoes or crops. This code of conduct was agreed to, and Taumata-a-kura led the Ngati Porou forces in the Bay of Plenty with his musket in one hand and New Testament in the other. The fact that he was not hit only served to increase his mana. Taumata-a-kura’s restraint left a strong impression on his opponents and did much to establish the virtual legend surrounding his work. About this time he took the name Piripi (Philip), and may have been baptised before returning to Waiapu. When missionaries eventually came to the Waiapu area, it was obvious that Taumata-a-kura had already established the influence of the gospel.
It was as a result of this and of Taumata-a-kura’s work around Waiapu that the Nga Puhi chief reported to William Williams. Williams and others duly visited the area in 1838, and nine more young Maori were trained at Paihia to carry on Taumata-akura’s work. Raniera Kawhia was one of those who first heard the gospel from Piripi Taumata-a-kura. He was later ordained deacon by Bishop Williams on 17 February 1860 at Whareponga. Nine of the fifteen Maori priests working in the Diocese of Waiapu during the late l950s were descendants of Taumata-akura, the man who had made possible the first rapid advance of the Christian faith on the East Coast.
Piripi Taumata-a-kura and his work are commemorated by a tablet on the font at St Mary’s Church, Tikitiki, and by a memorial bell at Rangitukua. The date of his death is not known, but a Piripi Taumata signed the Ngati Porou petition to Governor George Bowen in 1868, protesting against the confiscation of land as a punishment because some Ngati Porou had fought with the Hauhau against the government.
For Liturgical Use

Piripi Taumata-a-kura of Ngati Porou was responsible for introducing the gospel to his people in the East Cape area in the early 1830s. He had been influenced by the gospel in the north, and on his return had taught and preached, using short prayers and hymns, referring to Bible texts written on scraps of paper. He successfully negotiated restraint based on Christian principles in an inter-tribal battle in 1836. He gained great mana among his people and eventually made the way possible for a missionary training team of nine young Maori from Paihia to carry on his work.