========================================================================
  ALBERT MACLAREN, PIONEER MISSIONARY IN NEW GUINEA
  by Frances Synge
========================================================================

Synge's biographical account of Reverend Albert Maclaren's pioneering Anglican
missionary work in New Guinea from 1890, depicting his devoted character,
peaceful relations with indigenous peoples, and sacrificial service.

  Chapters: 14

------------------------------------------------------------------------
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. 00.01   Preface
    2. 00.02   Introduction
    3. 01.  Birth and Early Years
    4. 02.  Work at Mackay
    5. 03.  At West Maitland
    6. 04.  In England
    7. 05.  The New Guinea Mission
    8. 06.  First Visit to New Guinea
    9. 07.  The Wreck of The S.S. Quetta
   10. 08.  Second Visit to New Guinea
   11. 09.  Preparation For The Mission in Australia
   12. 10.  In New Guinea.  The Last Five Months
   13. 11.  A Reminiscence
   14. 12.  Note by the Bishop of New Guinea

========================================================================
  CHAPTER 1: 00.01   PREFACE
========================================================================

PREFATORY NOTE

IT is a privilege to accede to a request to write a few words in order to
introduce this book, in the publication of which I have been allowed to assist,
to the friends and supporters of the S.P.G. I knew Mr. Maclaren well both in
Australia and in England. What struck me most about him was his almost unique
power of sympathy, which rendered any formal introduction to him unnecessary,
and which in a brief space of time made it possible for acquaintanceship to
develop into friendship and friendship into love. Again, he gave others credit
for his own high ideals, and by his transparent sincerity and by refusing to
believe that his friend or acquaintance could be moved by motives less high than
his own he exercised a compelling influence, of which few could fail to be
conscious who had spent even a short time in his company. The highest and most
necessary gift which a missionary can aspire to gain is sympathy, and it was
because Maclaren possessed the grace of sympathy in so high a degree that the
brief work which he was called to do has been fruitful of lasting results.

Few will read this brief sketch of Maclaren’s work without feeling the contagion
of his enthusiasm, and without becoming conscious of an increased desire to
obtain some measure of the Christlike sympathy which was the secret of his
power.

CHARLES H. ROBINSON, S.P.G. Editorial Secretary.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 2: 00.02   INTRODUCTION
========================================================================

INTRODUCTION FOR me to write an Introduction to the life of the Rev. Albert
Maclaren is a labour of love, for I have known few more lovable men than the
subject of this memoir.

Albert Maclaren first became known to me on Sunday, the 23rd of February, 1890,
when he arrived at the Island of Dauan, on the New Guinea coast, on board the S.
S. Merrie England, from Thursday Island. On my arrival in British New Guinea in
1888 I found two Missions established there. The London Missionary Society had
already been fourteen years at work, and then extended over a large area of the
southern coast from the Fly River to Teste Island, but this line was broken by
great gaps at which there were no teachers. The Roman Catholic Mission had,
three or four years before my arrival, established itself in the middle of this
line, with headquarters on Yule Island, and with a few stations on the Mekeo
River, on the mainland opposite to Yule Island, which was a very accessible and
convenient centre.

It was quite clear that many a long year must elapse before these two Missions
could evangelise the 92,000 square miles of territory over which I had declared
the Queen’s sovereignty on the 4 of September, 1888. My experience of Mission
work in Fiji, where I was intimately acquainted with the remarkably successful
results of the Methodist Mission--results that, so far as I am aware, have not
been surpassed by any modern Christian Mission--had led me to feel that it was
my duty to try to procure additional Mission settlement in New Guinea; and not
unnaturally under such circumstances I first addressed myself to the Australian
Methodist Church, and had already, before Mr. Maclaren arrived in New Guinea,
invited a Methodist Mission to take up the Eastern Islands of the Colony.

Mr. Maclaren was accompanied by the Hon. John Douglas, C.M.G., who had acted for
some two years as Special Commissioner on the New Guinea coast before the
country was brought under sovereignty. Mr. Maclaren informed me he had come over
to arrange to open a Mission of the Church of England.

It was clear there was more than sufficient field for the four Missions, but it
was at the same time desirable that each should have its own area, so that their
strength should be utilised to the best advantage. I urged on Mr. Maclaren
before deciding anything to accompany me on a tour to the east end of the Colony
and along the north-east coast of the mainland.

Accordingly on the 22nd of May, 1890, Mr. Maclaren accompanied me on a tour to
the Mekeo district, making the acquaintance of the Roman Catholic Bishop Verjus.
Mr. Maclaren had volunteered to act as my Private Secretary for three months
while travelling with me, which allowed the Private Secretary to go on leave on
full pay, as Mr. Maclaren would not accept any remuneration. This gave me at the
same time a very efficient Secretary and a delightful companion. The first
journey I had to make during that term was to deal with a tribe of the Mekeo
country that had attacked another; but fortunately neither there nor at any
other place while Mr. Maclaren was with me was any blood shed by my party. It
was already said by the natives of the Mekeo district that the "Governor makes
peace everywhere," and we were received accordingly. An equal number had in this
case been killed on each side, and the two principal chiefs were made to
publicly rub noses and become reconciled. This was Mr. Maclaren’s first
experience of the Papuans. But he had other new experiences during that first
journey. He had several matrimonial proposals from high chiefs, who believed Mr.
Maclaren was open for an alliance because he was clean-shaven. One night Mr.
Maclaren was asleep under my hammock, which was swung on two sticks under a
"fly," when he was awakened by a painted, armed warrior, who looked into his
mosquito net, and caused some alarm; and soon after that a great pig came and
began to "root" him as he lay in his sleeping couch. One did not know from this
beginning which most to admire, Mr. Maclaren’s moral courage or his cheerful
good nature. After the Mekeo trip Mr. Maclaren was with me when I visited the
schools and examined the scholars of the Roman Catholic and London Missionary
Society’s schools, and he thus became acquainted with their methods. On the 9 of
June, 1890, the Rev. George Brown, the General Secretary of the Australian
Methodist Missions, joined us at Port Moresby. The working heads of the four
Missions could thus be all brought together without much trouble. A remarkable
group of men were thus assembled to confer together.

Representing the London Missionary Society were two distinguished men--the
scholarly, accomplished, devoted and experienced teacher, Dr. W. Lawes; and the
courageous, indefatigable, ever-active and fearless James Chalmers. For the
Methodist Church the large-hearted, brave veteran, Dr. George Brown, who had
kept two hostile Samoan armies apart by sitting down between them when drawn up
in battle array, and refusing to move till they began to discuss terms of peace;
and who had afterwards planted the Gospel in Duke of York and neighbouring
islands under conditions of great danger. For the Church of England the Rev. A.
A. Maclaren, full of life and hope, prepared to work with these older men in the
new field, with two objects only in view--to serve his Master and to do all in
his power for the Papuan, for whom he already entertained the warmest sympathy.
The fourth Church, the Roman. Catholic, was worthily re presented by its working
head, Bishop Verjus, a well-educated man, broad-minded, and an excellent
missionary. Of that group of eminent and highly qualified men only the Rev. Dr.
George Brown, the oldest man of the number, now survives. The missionaries
agreed among themselves that the Church of England should occupy the north east
coast from Ducie Point to the boundary with the German Protectorate of Kaiser
Wilhelms land; that the Methodists should have all the Eastern Islands, except
Hayter, as their field, the London Missionary Society giving up to them Teste
Island; that the London Missionary Society should have all the south coast,
except the, part occupied by the Sacred Heart Mission. That this result was
arrived at so speedily and easily was in no small degree owing to the character
of Mr. Maclaren. He was a man of perfect temper, very tactful, courteous, and
always prepared to give due consideration to the greater experience, and to the
wishes and opinions of others. There can be no doubt that the partition of
labour made between the Missions then was of very great use to the natives of
the country and to Mission work. It was soon after confirmed by a policy that
was, with the sanction of the Secretary of State, published in the Royal
Gazette: that in any one native village only one grant of land would be given to
a Mission by the Government. In the month of July, Mr. Maclaren and the Rev. Dr.
Brown accompanied me on a round of inspection of the Louisiade and
D’Entrecasteaux groups of islands, and as far as the Lachlan and Woodlark
Islands, which gave Mr. Maclaren an excellent opportunity of becoming acquainted
with many native tribes, and gave him a knowledge of their condition, manners
and customs that would hardly have been possible in such a short space of time
under any other circumstances. On the 23rd of July, 1890, we first entered the
special Mission field of Mr. Maclaren, the north-east coast, at Chad’s Bay. We
anchored in front of the native village, and could see numbers of people
preparing to run away. I landed with two boys without any arms, when some of
those present recognised me, as I had some time previously resettled them in
their village. We soon assembled a number of the natives. They did not
understand any English, but it was possible to make oneself partially under
stood by the Mime Bay dialect. When Dr. Brown and Mr. Maclaren landed, I
presented the latter to the natives as their missionary, and using the native
idiom told them "he had come to sit down among them as their missionary". They
understood this to mean that they were ’to be seated, and that Mr. Maclaren was
to preach to them there and then, which he naturally said he was not prepared to
do, though they showed their willingness to receive him as their missionary by
at once seating themselves on the ground in an attitude of expectancy.

Mr. Maclaren then accompanied me the whole length of his coast district, which
he thus visited from Cape Ducie to Mitre Rock. Many of the tribes were then as
wild as possible. In Collingwood Bay, for example, a memorable stampede was
produced among a crowd of natives assembled round us by one of my party striking
a match. Such was the panic produced by this slight cause that the natives
bolted blindly in all directions, running against and upsetting each other,
while one was stunned by rushing against a house-post. In Collingwood Bay we
were presented with the greatest treat they had at command--cooked yams and dead
dog. On the 4 of August I landed alone with Mr. Maclaren on the invitation of a
number of natives we saw on the beach some miles south of Mitre Rock. They soon
became numerous, and were somewhat boisterous. They did not know iron, and were
with difficulty got to do any trading. They were provided with arms, and were
very suspicious. Their method of salutation was to pull one’s nose. One of them
in warmth of friendship or exuberance of spirit saluted Mr. Maclaren in this way
somewhat roughly, and caught him by the chin. They suddenly all darted into "the
bush," without any apparent reason; but we found later on that it was because
one of them had stolen Mr. Maclaren’s spectacles. Another was detected in the
act of stealing his jacket. Had we remained too long there would certainly have
been trouble. These are fair examples of what Mr. Maclaren learned of his people
on that journey.

We selected several sites for Mission stations, such as that on Mission Hill,
some twelve or fifteen miles south of the German boundary; and for Collingwood
Bay, Maclaren Harbour, a beautiful place on the north end of the Bay.

Mr. Maclaren continued with me till the 1 of August, 1890, when I landed him at
Cooktown. On the 20th of December, 1891, I was at Samarai, accompanied by the
Right Honourable Sir Samuel Griffith, G.C.M.G. We found Mr. Maclaren there
seriously ill, and on the way to Australia. He was suffering from fever, and it
was thought desirable that he should proceed to a colder climate. Mr. Maclaren
was physically a splendid man, but he had one peculiarity in his constitution
that unfitted him for a malarious country--he could not tolerate quinine. I have
known a few, very few, similar instances, in which men could not take this
medicine, but they are now, I believe, all dead. No such man should stay in a
malarious country, for he does so at the risk of his own life and to the danger
of others. But this was not understood at that date, which was prior to the
great discoveries of my friend Major Ronald Ross. In a despatch dated the 6th of
February, 1892, I wrote as follows:--

"On the same day (23rd December, 1891) the steamer proceeded to the Anglican
Mission Station at Wedau, in Bartle Bay. The Rev. A. Maclaren, the head of the
Mission, we left at Samarai, suffering from an attack of fever, which did not
appear to be of unusual severity, but to which he succumbed shortly afterwards.
The death of that gentleman is a great blow to the Mission in its present stage,
and is a very regret table public loss. He was at the time the only clergyman
representing the Mission in his district. An excellent site had been selected
for the station, and some progress made in erecting a very superior
dwelling-house, but it was found that much of the house materials had been short
sup plied and operations had in consequence been suspended; but although Mr.
Maclaren had been such a short time in the district, and had heavy care and much
vexation in connection with the building of houses and founding the Mission, I
could see clearly that he had made a distinct impression on the natives of the
vicinity. He had prepared a vocabulary of about a thousand words of their
language, and had visited all the tribes on the coast between Girumia and
Sibiribiri. The natives of Wamira were attending service regularly, and becoming
a settled, industrious community. He had also been successful in establishing
peaceful relations between some tribes not yet visited by me, and I believe he
was fast reducing crime in the district." And in my Annual Report for the year,
when speaking of Missions, I wrote:--"The Anglican Mission, which had taken up
as its field the north-east coast from Cape Ducie to Mitre Rock, was completely
stunned by the death of the Rev. A. Maclaren, at the end of the year. He was
possessed of all the high qualities that seemed necessary to make a man a great
missionary among such a people--enthusiasm, originality and strong sympathy.
High hopes were entertained as to the work he and his Mission would be able to
accomplish among the native tribes. His death was a very serious public loss.
Under the management of the Rev. C. King, the Mission-house at Wedau has been
completed, and all is now prepared at the station for the reception of other
workers. Mr. King has established services and a school for the natives nearest
the station."

Further knowledge of the world has only confirmed my belief that the death of
Mr. Maclaren closed the earthly career of one who would have been a great
missionary. He was a sympathetic man, patient and sweet-tempered, the type of
man that would gain the confidence of natives and influence them for good. He
was earnest in the spiritual part of his work, and went to the fountain head for
his own religion. Mr. Maclaren made it a rule of life to read a certain portion
of the Greek New Testament every day, a practice that would have greatly
assisted him when he came to translate the Gospels into native dialects.

He was warmly attached to the Church of England, though I understood that his
father was a Presbyterian. But Mr. Maclaren was so little of the bigot that I
find it entered in my diary that he went to say his prayers in the Roman
Catholic chapel at Raro. Bishop Verjus of the Roman Catholic Mission said to me
once when speaking of Mr. Maclaren: "They tell me he is more a Catholic than I
am". This was probably true in the broadest and best sense, though Bishop Verjus
was no bigot.

Mr. Maclaren had clear views as to utilising native manners and usages in
mission services. He was, for example, delighted with the nose flute of some of
his people, and intended to include it in the choir. This frame of mind he
derived from his acquaintance with the history of the ancient church, and from
his own study of human nature.

Mr. Maclaren gave the first impetus to Church of England Mission work on the
great and interesting field of the north-east coast.

One can wish that Mission nothing better than that it shall always continue to
move in the direction in which he gave to it its first start; and that it may
always be animated by the spirit that was infused into it by Albert Maclaren.

WM. MACGREGOR.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 3: 01.  BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS
========================================================================

Chapter 1 Birth and Early Years ON a memorial stone in Westminster Abbey it is
written, "God buries His workmen but carries on His work". This might be written
on many another, and not least on a cross which, far away in the heat and glare
of a North Australian cemetery, marks the grave of Albert Alexander Maclaren. No
farther back than the year 1891 this young Anglican clergyman, followed by the
watching eyes and the earnest prayers of the Church in England and in Australia,
went forth, in the name of God, to plant the banner of the Cross on the
north-east coast of British New Guinea. Six months later came the tidings of
what proved to be a fatal attack of fever, of a last message (on Christmas Day)
to his mother," Don’t be anxious, I am in His hands, I shall be better soon," of
a brief voyage, the lonely death at sea, and a hasty burial in Cooktown
cemetery.

Death and apparent disaster have often been the first steps to the triumphs of
the Cross, and the story of this life and death is no new one in the history of
the Church. It deserves none the less a place among the annals of her pioneers.
His life has borne fruit in the inspiration which it has afforded to many other
lives.

Albert Alexander Maclaren, the founder of the New Guinea Mission, was of
Scottish descent. The Maclarens were an old family of Musselburgh, who had
suffered reverses. Albert Maclaren’s great-grandfather had been a captain in the
army, his father, Charles Stewart Maclaren, earned his living as a stone mason.
He is remembered by his children as a grave, quiet Presbyterian who told them
often that he himself had been very strictly brought up and intended to bring
them up in the same way. But it was from a saintly grandmother that Albert
Maclaren probably inherited his deeply religious character. A short time before
the birth of his son, Charles Stewart Maclaren was appointed to a post under
Government in the Falkland Islands, and sailed from England with his wife and
eldest daughter in the brigantine Elisa, but the ship struck upon the Goodwin
Sands, and, after floating off again, narrowly escaped total wreck on the
Needles off the Isle of Wight, and was forced to put into Cowes for repairs.
After this second escape, Mrs. Maclaren refused to continue the voyage, and
thereby saved her own life and that of the future missionary, for shortly
afterwards, on the 1 February, 1853, her son was born at Queen’s Terrace, West
Cowes. In the meantime the Elisa had resumed her voyage only to founder at sea.
The child was baptised "Albert Alexander" by a Presbyterian minister, and
brought up in his very early years under the teaching of the Scottish Kirk. A
story is told that while he was still in long clothes his mother was asked to
show her baby to a native missionary, who took the child in his arms, kissed
him, and gave him back, saying, "There, your son has been kissed by a black
missionary, if he lives he will become a great missionary himself some day".

We may see in these simple words God’s vocation for the future pioneer of the
New Guinea Mission. Albert Maclaren was ever at heart a missionary--the poor,
the suffering, the outcast, the ignorant were sought out and cared for by him,
from his early days, when, as a little boy, he carried the flowers he loved to
the sick and suffering in his village home, until the summer morning when he
laid down his life for the people of far-off New Guinea. From Cowes, Charles
Maclaren moved with his family to Newport and thence to Portsmouth. When his son
Albert was eight years old, and three other children (two girls and a boy) had
been born, he moved to Drayton, a little hamlet near Cosham, in Hampshire. We
only get glimpses of Albert Maclaren’s early childhood, but enough to indicate
the contradictions at all times characteristic of him. Roaming over Ports mouth
Down, carrying home primroses, the spoils of country walks, to his youngest
sister, working in the cottage garden--always his special care--carrying his
beloved flowers and reading to one old woman dying on Portsmouth Down, halving
his fourpence a week pocket-money regularly with another in the village,
gathering the children together on Sunday evenings, preaching to them, and
making them practise psalms and hymns over and over until they had them right,
loving and beloved by his brothers and sisters, though always a great tease and
certainly far from being a prig--such are some of the memories of those early
days. In ordinary boyish sports he seems to have taken but little interest. He
went to school first at Portsmouth and then to the village school at Cosham, and
he is described as being, until the age of twelve, "a troublesome pickle". He
was never very studious and he stood somewhat in awe of his stern father. In
after years he told the following story in illustration of the discipline to
which he was subjected, contrasting it with the indulgence granted by the
parents of the present time. One day, out of school hours, a certain
schoolmaster in Australia saw a boy in the act of nailing a duck down to the
pavement by its webbed feet. Then and there he thrashed him for his cruelty. The
boy’s father was indignant, prosecuted the school master and succeeded in having
him fined. "It was very different when I was a boy," he said; "one day when I
came home from school my father suspected, and rightly, that I had had a
thrashing and asked me what it was for. I told him. ’You deserved it too,’ he
said, ’and I will give you another.’ And he did give me another," added
Maclaren. On the 12th of March, 1865, when twelve years of age, he was confirmed
by Bishop Gilbert of Chichester, and two years later he left school and went to
work at a temporary office in connection with the building of Purbrook Fort. At
the age of seventeen he left home for the first time and was employed with the
Ordnance Survey, first at Oxford, and afterwards at Amberley and New bury.
During his stay at Oxford in the winter of 1871-72 he attended a night-school
held in the parish of S. Ebbs, and there made the acquaintance of one of the
clergy--the Rev. Willoughby Bryan Brown--who afterwards befriended him at East
Shefford. In 1875 the Rev. John Adams, Vicar of Stock Cross, near Newbury,
discovered that young Maclaren (who sung in the choir at Stock Cross) was
interested in missionary work, and, as he seemed to have a vocation, it was
eventually decided that he should study with a view to work in the mission
field.

About this time a ruridecanal missionary association was formed to support a
student at S. Augustine’s Missionary Training College, Canterbury, and on the
recommendation of Mr. Adams and other clergy of the rural deanery of Newbury,
Albert Maclaren was nominated as the first student to be supported throughout
his course by the new association with the help of a few friends. After spending
a year at Wrexham Grammar School, he entered S. Augustine’s College on 28th
November, 1874, being then in his twenty-second year. At college the young
student in no way distinguished himself in his studies, but showed a true
vocation for mission work among the poor. During the latter part of their course
the students at S. Augustine’s were attached to certain parishes in Canterbury
to teach in Sunday-schools and visit in different districts. The poor district
of Knott’s Lane, in the parish of North Gate, became Albert Maclaren’s sphere of
work. He threw himself into it as if the parish were his own. As the vicar was
ninety years of age, more work than usual devolved on the enthusiastic young
man.

I remember looking in at a school treat one Saint’s Day and the comical effect
he presented, holding a hymn-book with one hand, and in the other a chair to be
placed for me in a post of honour, singing all the time at the top of his voice.

He was an excellent visitor, full of fun, and rather fond of mimicry. The
persuasive begging powers for the needs of the Church, which he possessed in a
remarkable degree all his life, are illustrated by the following story of those
days. He hired a room over a stable and set himself to collect the money needed
to furnish it suitably for his mission work. His fellow students dared him to
approach the landlord, a Unitarian, for a subscription. Off went Maclaren, but,
as was to be expected, met with no success. After trying his powers of
persuasion for some time, he left his land lord as he said "to think it over"
and he would "call again to-morrow". He was warned that it would be useless, but
on the morrow, nothing daunted, he tried again, only to be again refused. He
told the man he was afraid he had not left him time enough to think it over and
he would call again. The following day he returned triumphantly with five
pounds.

"I can still see his earnest face as he addressed his little congregation of
costers and their wives and children in the old house in the court of Knott’s
Lane," says one of his fellow Augustinians (the Rev. H. C. H. Johnson); "nothing
ever seemed too much for him to do for the poor people down there, and some
years after, when I returned to Canterbury, the people still retained
affectionate memories of him."

Twenty years after he had left S. Augustine’s another student at the college
writes of him: "He is still remembered by the older inhabitants of Knott’s Lane
with affection. Nearly all the people of this district were very poor and many
of the children came barefooted to school. These dearly loved Maclaren, and he
might frequently be seen walking down the street with some of them clinging to
his gown. As their poverty was great, so, too, was their ignorance. One of
Maclaren’s fellow-workers took a party of Sunday-school boys to the cathedral on
one occasion. They had never been in it before though they lived within a
stone’s-throw of it. One of the boys, when asked what he thought of it, said,
’It would be a good place to dodge a bobby in’. A lady who accompanied Maclaren
in 1888 on a visit to his old haunts says: ’All was still and all the
inhabitants seemed asleep, but some one saw and recognised "Muster Maclaren".
The news of his arrival spread like wildfire, heads in every variety of covering
or disarray were thrust out of windows and he was quickly surrounded and warmly
greeted.’"

While at S. Augustine’s his vacations were spent in mission work, sometimes at
S. Peter’s, London Docks, where he had the privilege of working under Father
Lowder, sometimes at Gravesend, where, through his connection with S. Andrew’s
Waterside Mission, he first became acquainted with Canon Scarth, to whom he was
deeply attached, and with whose family he found, afterwards at Bearsted, in
Kent, what he loved to call "his second home."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 4: 02.  WORK AT MACKAY
========================================================================

Chapter 2

Work at Mackay

ALBERT MACLAREN lost his father in June, 1877, and in the same year completed
his course at S. Augustine’s. He was anxious to devote himself immediately to
the work of the Universities Mission in Central Africa, but the doctors, in
consequence of his delicate constitution, refused to certify to his physical
fitness. He then offered himself to the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel, and after satisfying the Board of Examiners, on 28th June, 1877, he was
accepted by the Committee of the Society for general mission work.

About this time Bishop Hale was appealing for men to work in the Diocese of
Brisbane and Maclaren offered himself.

He left England in November, 1877, and took the longer voyage by sailing vessel
for the benefit of his health. Early in 1878 he reached Australia, and on 17th
March was made deacon by Bishop Hale of Brisbane at Christ Church, Milton. He
was sent to take charge of Mackay, a rising township about 750 miles north of
Brisbane, and the centre of Queensland’s sugar industry. On 19th June, 1878, he
was ordained priest by the same bishop and in the same church where three months
previously he had been admitted to the diaconate.

Mackay was notoriously a "difficult" parish. Maclaren is reported to have said
in his first sermon: "You starved out one man, you broke another man’s heart,
and you drove another man away. Now Mr. So-and- so (naming the Roman Catholic
priest) will always give me an old coat, Mr. So-and-so (the Methodist minister)
will give me a meal, so you can’t starve me out, you can’t break my heart, and
you can’t drive me away, for I don’t mean to go."

Shortly before his arrival, the church, which was originally a very small, rough
stone and rubble building, had been blown down in a storm, and all that was left
was a heap of stones and a debt of £200. Services were being held in the
Oddfellows’ Hall and apparently there were few to whom this state of things made
any difference. Maclaren did not hesitate in this, as in other matters, to speak
plainly to his people. He asked how long they would allow their own houses to
remain in such a condition, and how a comparatively wealthy community could so
treat the house of God. But while he never minced matters, and therefore often
gave occasion for offence, his earnestness and sincerity and the infection of
his enthusiasm were evidenced by the fact that within twelve months of his
arrival, not only was the debt on the old church paid off, but £1,700 was raised
for building the new one. He personally superintended the progress of the work
of building whilst living in a small cottage in the church grounds which did
duty for a rectory. The new Church of the Holy Trinity, adorned by many gifts
which expressed at once the influence and the reverence of the rector, was
opened in December, 1879, and consecrated the following February by Dr. Stanton,
the Bishop of North Queensland, to which diocese the Parish of Mackay had been
transferred. The church being built and paid for, Maclaren next set to work to
raise funds for a schoolroom, and in four months a substantial building was
completed. His next step was to purchase a piece of land on the north side of
Mackay, on which he erected another small church for the benefit of parishioners
living in the neighbourhood, some of them at a distance of five or six miles
from the parish church. By his exertions, too, a rectory was built close to Holy
Trinity Church, and many sick parishioners from the country, needing change of
air, and unable to pay hotel expenses, were welcomed and cared for there. The
following extracts supply some details concerning his work:--

"In my parish there are 4,000 white people, and 2,000 South-Sea Islanders who
work on the sugar plantations. The parish is 120 miles long and 80 miles broad.
The church is in the centre of the town. It is a large wooden building, capable
of holding 500 persons. It cost L of which £1,400 has been collected in the
parish during the past year. Four times in the year I visit another township 70
miles from here and have services. The people attend church regularly and give
willingly. On Easter Day there were 133 communicants and the offertories
amounted last year to £370. At Walkerston we have a very old school-house, eaten
through with white ants, to worship in. I am trying to raise funds sufficient to
build a small church. The Bishop has promised £100, and my Easter offering of
£30 I have given to the same object, but it is impossible to erect a building
under £500. The townspeople refuse to give, and the sugar planters have all
given their donations to the church in Mackay. It is important that we should
build a church at Walkerston, as it is the centre of the sugar plantations where
the South- Sea Islanders reside, and they would be easily made to attend a
service near their homes. It seems a great pity that something is not done for
these poor fellows when they come to our country; but it seems impossible to
make our rich planters understand that it is their duty to do something towards
teaching them Christianity. They are a kind, faithful race of people. While I am
writing, two of them have just come from the Bush, one of whom is an old pupil
of mine. He has handed me a £1 note, saying, ’Missionary, you give this to the
new church’. A short time ago this same black boy’s brother died of consumption.
He had been preparing for baptism for some time, and when taken sick sent for me
and asked to be baptised. He knew the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer perfectly both
in the letter and in the spirit. Before he died I gave him Communion, and now
his body rests in our church yard. In his will he left £1 for ’Missionary’. It
is on behalf of these South-Sea Islanders that I ask you to do all you can to
help me in building the church at Walkerston. The white people are against my
doing anything in the way of teaching them, their argument being, that they pay
me, not to look after the souls of blacks but of white people."

Hopeful as he was, the weariness and difficulties of life sometimes pressed
heavily upon him.

"I feel very dull and lonely here and long for some one to whom I could confide
my serious difficulties," he writes to Canon Scarth in July, i88o. "Since I have
been here I have seen but one clergyman, and the Bishop twice." The same letter
shows he had not forgotten S. Andrew’s Waterside Mission and Canon Scarth’s
interest in it. "There is a coastguard station about two miles from Mackay," the
letter goes on to say, "which I take great interest in. The men are so earnest
and attend church regularly. The pilot was accidentally drowned a few months
ago, and left a widow and a large family. The people here were very kind and
gave me £220 for them. Most of the ships which come here are South-Sea Island
labour vessels bringing ’boys’ from the islands to work on the sugar
plantations."

Many letters belonging to this period are written to his mother. There are
frequent references to the unsatisfactory state of his health, and to the trying
conditions of the climate. In 1881 he speaks of the pleasure a visit to Brisbane
had afforded him--"Such a treat," he says, "to see nice shops and pretty things

Under all the contradictions of his character ran a deep undercurrent of
spirituality, magnetic in its influence over all classes of men. No one who knew
him would be surprised to hear that when his watch (a valuable one, presented to
him in England) had been stolen with other things from a boarding-house where he
was staying, the culprit repented immediately on discovering to whom it
belonged, and Maclaren found it a week later on his own verandah, together with
a note expressing deep repentance and regret that the other articles had already
been disposed of and could not be restored. The following story illustrates his
influence in a different way. One day he went from Mackay to hold service at
Mount Britten, when the "rush" was made to that place, and as there were about
150 of the roughest people gathered there, many were curious to see how the
preacher would fare. He opened the campaign by organising a free and easy
"sing-song" on a Saturday night. This proved an immense success, and one of the
most popular numbers on the programme was Maclaren’s own solo, the
"Midshipmite". At the close of the proceedings he said: "Oh, by the way, I am
going to hold service to-morrow night on the flat and I shall be glad if you
chaps will come down and hear what I have got to say". Come down they did, and
from the moment he stood up beside the log-fire, which did service for lamps,
all doubt as to his reception had vanished. As a brawny New Zealand digger said,
he was "a right sort of parson". That he interpreted literally the words "Give
to him that asketh of thee" is well known. The consequence of this promiscuous
charity was, as generally happens, that he was often duped, and often he had not
a penny in his pocket. Bishop Hale used to tell the story of a beggar who, on
approaching Maclaren, when the latter’s finances were unusually low, received
the answer, "All I have is in the sugar basin, I am as poor as you are. If there
is anything in the sugar basin I will share it with you." His generosity at
times had unpleasant consequences for his friends. Once at Mackay he was driving
to visit a distant parishioner, a squatter, when he was overtaken by a
thunderstorm, and suffered a thorough drenching. His friend had just got a new
suit of clothes from his tailor, and insisted that Maclaren should wear them
until his own clothes were dry. On returning home Maclaren put the suit away in
a drawer and forgot all about it, until one day a beggar came to the door. "I
fear I have none but clerical clothes and they would be no good to you," he
said, "but I will go and see what I can do for you." Going to the drawer he came
upon the borrowed suit. "I quite forgot these," he said, "they must be some that
I had when I was a layman," and he gave them to the beggar. When the owner
called for them he was told, "I quite forgot that they were yours; it is too
late now, I have given them away and the man was much worse off than you are"!

Among the various classes of people to whom he ministered the despised
aboriginals were not altogether neglected. One, who as a little girl used to be
sent by her parents to show Maclaren the road in one of the distant parts of his
parish, relates how, on one occasion finding that a tribe of aboriginals were
encamped. in the neighbourhood, he insisted upon going to see them. His black
coat and clergyman’s hat were strange sights to them and they fled from the
"debil debil," but his guide, who was already known to them, called them back
and tried to explain that he was a clergyman. The words was quite beyond their
comprehension, so Maclaren himself began to explain that he was "all the same
teacher" and showed them some writing on a slate. Then he brought out a
Testament and asked them if they knew Jesus Christ. No, they shook their heads.
So he knelt in their midst, with hat off and hands upraised, and prayed aloud
for them. They thereupon called him "cranky man" and danced about, imitating
him, but they never forgot him and for a long time afterwards used to mimic
"cranky man". He afterwards persuaded some of them to attend for a while a
Sunday-school which was conducted by a lady in the neighbourhood. The story of
Maclaren’s life would be incomplete without some reference to his horses and his
dogs, of which he made great pets. His horse Peter seemed to borrow his master’s
moods. Maclaren would some times be lost in dreams, and Peter would trudge along
at the rate of not more than a mile an hour. When his master roused himself,
Peter was called upon to make up for lost time. At such a pace used he to drive
occasionally, that only a whirling cloud of dust, out of the midst of which
might be heard the strains of "O Paradise, O Paradise," proclaimed the approach
of the rector of the parish. But it is time to draw the record of his ministry
at Mackay to a close. He always said that he would never stay in a parish more
than three years. "The first year people worship me, the second year they don’t
know quite what to make of me, the third year they are tired of me and then it’s
time I left." So having been nearly five years at Mackay, he resigned. His
endless efforts in the cause of the distressed, his carelessness regarding his
own bodily comfort and the changeful climate had told upon him. To these reasons
we must add the fact that he felt deeply the cases of ill-treatment of the
Kanakas by the planters, which came under his notice, and which he was powerless
to prevent. He resigned amid the protests of his parishioners, and declined to
take any other living in the diocese. His parishioners had collected the sum of
£250, which they intended to present to him as a mark of their appreciation of
his work amongst them and as a parting gift, but with his usual disregard of
money he refused to accept it.

He left Mackay in January, 1883.

Those who knew Maclaren at Mackay have ever borne him in affectionate
remembrance. One of his old parishioners afterwards provided him with means to
take his degree at Durham, and in 1891, when he was on his way to New Guinea, a
number of his old friends vent out to meet him at sea, though it meant for them
a whole night’s tossing about in a little steamer. After his death a beautiful
set of altar plate and brass altar rails were presented to the church which he
had built, in grateful memory of him.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 5: 03.  AT WEST MAITLAND
========================================================================

Chapter 3 At West Maitland A FEW months after leaving Mackay, Maclaren went to
take temporary charge of S. Paul’s, West Maitland.

Though he had undertaken this work he had not abandoned his hope of joining the
Universities Mission to Central Africa, and in November, 1883, he announced that
he had been accepted and was proceeding thither. A memorial was then addressed
to him by the non- churchgoing young men of West Maitland, for whom he had
instituted a special service in the Masonic Hall, and this induced him first to
think the matter over, and finally to change his mind. Never before in New South
Wales, it was said, had such a document been presented to a clergyman who had
laboured in a place so short a time as Maclaren had laboured in West Maitland.
"You contemplate joining a mission to the heathen in Central Africa," they
wrote. "That mission is conducted in circumstances of great danger from the
climate and from savage men. Any reference to peril to be encountered, will not,
we know, avail to turn you from the path of duty. But we venture to ask you to
consider that here in West Maitland is a field of labour of which you have
barely turned over furrow. There are many amongst us who feel that you may
become our best friend, and who are already disposed to love and follow you.
Will you not stay with us and pursue the work which you have begun? Must we lose
you, we ask ourselves, just when we are coming to know your value? Sir, we
entreat you to consider us and our needs. For our sakes relinquish your design
of leaving Australia. Apply your zeal and capacity for teaching to those in whom
you have already awakened some concern. You are our friend, we know." Signed for
282 non-churchgoers. In the course of his reply he told them (this was on 1st
January, 1884) that he was going to take a holiday by the bishop’s advice, and
that he would return to West Maitland. He kept his promise, and on the Feast of
the Conversion of S. Paul, 25th January, 1884, he was inducted to his charge by
Bishop Pearson, greatly to the regret of his old parishioners at Mackay, who had
entertained hopes that he would return to them. It is unnecessary to give a
consecutive account of the following three years at West Maitland. The daily
parish work of an Australian country town does not lend itself to continuous
narrative. At West Maitland, as at Mackay, Maclaren influenced all classes of
society. In West Maitland he is chiefly remembered for his work amongst young
men and children, amongst the prisoners in the East Maitland gaol, and amongst
the poorest of his parishioners. On one occasion a band of "larrikins" had
united under the name of the "Skeleton Army" to harass and interfere with the
Salvation Army. Some of these lads were arrested and brought before a judge who
imposed a severe sentence upon them for their misbehaviour. Maclaren promptly
interviewed the authorities, and succeeded in getting the sentence reduced, and
from this little incident he received the name of the "Larrikins’ Parson". But
he succeeded in disbanding the "Skeleton Army," the captain of which became a
regular communicant. With the young he was a great favourite, and to those now
grown up who were children in his day, the mention of his name revives the
happiest memories. As a catechiser he had the power of drawing out the children
and bringing home to them lessons of the highest importance. One says she
remembers how when she was a child he seemed to read their characters. "’Stand
up,’ he would say, ’the little girl who let her tired mother wash up last
night.’ Or, ’Stand up, the little girl who did not say her prayers this
morning’. We used to look at each other and crawl guiltily to our feet, for we
never dared to tell him a lie. In fact I have said my prayers many a time only
for fear that he would ask me." Nor was the happy and social side of their life
unnoticed. Very often at a children’s ser vice he would suggest to the children
that if they brought a penny each to the schoolroom on a certain day during the
week, they would have a tea (the day was generally Wednesday and it became well
known in West Maitland that the greatest punishment a child could receive was to
be "kept in" on Wednesday after noon). On the day appointed, long before the
hour mentioned, the school grounds were besieged by merry children, full of
anticipation, not so much at the tea but what was to come afterwards, for as a
rule Maclaren was the sole entertainer. Full of fun and humour himself, and a
great mimic, he kept the children in a roar of laughter for at least an hour.
Sometimes his dog Rex would help his master to entertain his guests. To the
accompaniment of an organette, Rex was made to perform certain tricks to the
delight of the children.

"My three boys, who are now grown up, all loved him," writes one of his
parishioners. "I remember when he was leaving Maitland for England, he called in
for a last good-bye. My boys were all in their cots and he went round in the
dark, put his hands on them and blessed them. Such little actions endeared him
to us very much. . . . I never met a man who so entered into the fun of everyday
life and yet who influenced so many for good. His children’s services I shall
never forget. He knew each child by name and walked up and down the aisle,
speaking first to one and then to another. He tried to make his services so
bright that they loved them. He was very fond of quoting from a book called Led
by a Little Child which he gave to me one Christmas." His services for children
were a special feature of the missions he preached in several parishes in Sydney
while he was Incumbent of S. Paul’s, West Maitland. The parochial missions
referred to deserve more than passing notice. As a missioner he was particularly
successful, Many of his friends thought it a pity that he did not devote his
life to mission work in some of the large slum parishes in England, so
remarkable were his gifts for dealing with the poor and outcast. Of the mission
which he conducted at Christ Church, Sydney, the Rev. F. J. Albery, the present
rector, writes:--"The mission which Mr. Maclaren took here when I was a lad I
remember well. Indeed I could never forget it. It was a wonderful movement for
good and influenced many outside the ordinary congregation and from many parts
in and around Sydney. Night after night the church was filled by a congregation
which included not a few who, from that time, could look back to a change in
their spiritual life of a lasting character. His preaching at that time was at
its best. I think I never heard any one so earnestly searching and sympathetic
in the pulpit, and since then I have been privileged to hear most of the great
English preachers in recent times." The other missions Maclaren conducted were
at Christ Church, North Sydney; All Saints, Petersham; and All Saints,
Parramatta. "His faith was strongly in evidence, and his convictions were clear
beyond doubt," writes one--a layman. "There was nothing of the wobbling,
apologetic type of parson about Albert Maclaren, one felt that he believed with
all his heart and that he could give good reason for the hope that was in him. I
remember on one occasion that we sat talking until the small hours of the
morning, and that our conversation led to a discussion on the mysteries of the
spiritual world, and life’s many anomalies. How helpful that long night’s talk
was, and how even yet the memory of that meeting lingers as a red-letter epoch
in one’s life." The proximity of the East Maitland gaol afforded him scope for
exercising among the prisoners his remarkable power of influence. It is said
that he particularly disliked visiting the gaol and therefore made a point of
doing so on Friday. He frequently preached in the gaol chapel, and at such times
his passionate appeals and earnest exhortations were remark able. One Good
Friday especially, when he preached on the "Three Crosses," he made a deep
impression, and a few days later he received a card with three crosses and the
texts which had appealed most to his hearers. This card was the work of one of
the prisoners and was highly valued by Maclaren. As illustrations of the way in
which he cared personally for the more unfortunate and degraded of his
parishioners, we may instance how on one occasion as the church bell was
ringing, and he was ready to enter the church to begin the service, word was
brought to him of a drunken man who was dying and for whom no one thought it
worth while to fetch a doctor. He went off at once in his cassock and left his
congregation waiting till he had himself found the doctor and had done
everything possible for the dying man. On another occasion he went to the
Chinese quarter of the town to find an unfortunate woman suffering from typhoid
fever. He took her in a cab to the hospital, supporting her himself all the way.

He had often been on the verge of resigning, for he could not brook opposition
to his wishes, and when some parishioner had vexed him he would go post-haste
over to the bishop to resign his cure, and tell him that he intended to leave at
once for the Central African Mission. A few words from the bishop would soothe
him and he would return once more to his work and the aggrieved parishioner.

He certainly liked his own way, and generally got it, and this gained for him in
West Maitland from friends who loved him the nickname of the "Pope."

"We have had many a laugh over the quiet way he had of compelling people to do
what he wanted them to do in spite of themselves," writes one of his lady
parishioners.

Maclaren never seems to have really settled down at West Maitland. He was, as
has been said already, often on the point of resigning the living and finally
did so in January, 1887. The Maitland Mercury of 25th January, 1887, thus sums
up his work in the district:--"The Rev. A. A. Maclaren has been for three years
a resident of Maitland, and will bear away with him the love and esteem of all
with whom he has come in con tact. In the pulpit, a fearless preacher of what he
deemed to be the truth, as a parish clergyman he has been diligent, earnest in
the performance of duty, the sympathetic counsellor and friend of the suffering
and sorrowful, the almoner of the destitute, the comforter of the widow and
orphan. The dwelling-places of the poor have known him better than the
habitations of the rich, and he has commanded the respect of all classes and all
creeds for devotion to his fellow-men. His purse was open to all, and he
habitually denied himself that he might have to give to those in want The place
he gained in the hearts of the community was best shown by the demonstrations of
genuine respect which greeted him on all sides as he passed along the street. In
these free and easy days the clergyman to whom well every boy and lad touches
the hat must be a clergyman in whom they recognise a special worthiness. It is
not our province to deliver any opinion on Church practices about which there
has been party controversy. But we may say that the services at S. Paul’s have
been distinguished during the last three years by brightness and heartiness, and
that the congregations have been increasingly large. . .

West Maitland proved its love for its old pastor by the stained glass window in
S. Paul’s Church erected to his memory after his death, and by the staunch
support it has given to the work of the New Guinea Mission for which his life
was laid down.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 6: 04.  IN ENGLAND
========================================================================

Chapter 4 In England WHEN Maclaren wrote "Laus Deo" after his final entry in the
service book at S. Paul’s, West Maitland, on S. Paul’s Day, 1887, he little
thought that his work as a parish priest was finished. At the time of his
resignation of West Maitland arrangements were being made for him to take
temporary charge of the Cathedral in Brisbane, when the serious illness of
Bishop Pearson of Newcastle led to his changing his plans again and devoting
himself entirely to his bishop, "because the latter had always been so kind to
him". The little party, consisting of the bishop and Mrs. Pearson, the bishop’s
nephew and Maclaren, went from Morpth to Armidale, and later went on a short
visit to Tenterfield. "He undertook the duty of the parish for the short time we
stayed there. The railway to the Queensland border was being made at the time
and numerous tents along the line were occupied by the navvies and their
families. He quickly got to know them and would dodge into this tent or that and
have a talk with the mother about the children, and if the father was at home,
would soon get on a friendly footing with him. By the time he left the town the
little church was full to overflowing and the congregation presented him with a
small Communion Service as a parting gift." At the same place he had to take a
pauper’s funeral and expressed his righteous indignation when he was told that
it was not necessary to read the whole of the Burial Service. He then, no one
being present but the undertaker, read the service right through. As Bishop
Pearson’s health did not improve, the doctors advised a voyage to England, and
Maclaren sailed with him and his party in May, 1887. The next few months were
occupied in Maclaren’s constant and affectionate care for Bishop Pearson, and in
occasional deputation work for the S.P.G. In December he writes to his friend
Miss Arnold telling her that one of his old Mackay parishioners had kindly come
forward and offered to pay all expenses to enable him to take his degree at
Durham University. Never a great student, he complained of the "hard grind" and
rejoiced that he had successfully passed the entrance examination. It is
characteristic of him that his mind at this time was much more occupied with
arrangements for providing a Christmas dinner for the poor children of S.
Peter’s, London Docks, than with his University work. "I have promised to
collect £10," he writes, "and as I have not a penny towards it, I want you to
help me to collect it from Australians in England. I must pay it all myself
unless I can get friends to help me. . . ." The money was collected, and on 6th
January, 1888, he writes: "The first dinner to the poor children was given on
Holy Innocents’ Day at S. Peter’s, London Docks. They had service in the church,
at which I preached, afterwards they marched to the school, where a good dinner
awaited them. They were so hungry that the food soon disappeared. Then an orange
with a Christmas card was given to each, after which about 150 shoeless,
half-naked little ones came in and were fed in the same way. Such hearty cheers
were given for the Australians who gave them such good fare. Poor things, it was
very sad! On Tuesday last another dinner was given in the poorest part of the
East-end; 500 poor little ones crowded into the Sisters of the Church
Restaurant, Dock Street, E., where they had the same fare as at S. Peter’s. It
would have done you good to have seen them and I wished that I could have had S.
Paul’s (West Maitland) children over. On 26th January is the commemoration of
the foundation of New South Wales, and I want to get New South Wales people in
England to celebrate it by giving a dinner to more of the hungry ones.
Altogether I got £24--for Christmas, a Presbyterian gave me £13. ’What a beggar
Mr. Maclaren is!’ you will say, but it is for a good cause.

I had no idea that I was such a staunch Australian till I came home, but I am
not sorry. I shall go back with many new ideas but with the firm conviction that
extremes will not be good for our new country, so be ware of too much ritual
lest you become dissatisfied with your own church in Australia."

About this time, when on a visit to Oxford with a friend, he remarked that
though the beautiful ornaments and fittings of a certain church gave him great
pleasure, he would far rather hear of the work that they were doing. He went up
to Durham in January, 1888, and had rooms in University College. Writing in the
following month he says, "It is Greek, Latin, Latin, Greek, perpetually". His
vacation was spent at Bearsted with his friend Canon Scarth, "reading hard as
well as working in the parish". On 10th December he writes to another:--"I have
delayed writing till I knew the result of an examination which I am glad to say
I have passed successfully. It was always my intention, if possible, to go to
Durham University and get my degree. Last week I went up and matriculated and
passed the first part of the final examination, so that if all goes well, and I
can manage it, I shall go into residence in January, and remain there till
December, i888. The reason why the course is so short is, that the authorities
take into consideration the three years at S. Augustine’s College. It seems a
long time to have to wait, but I think an English University degree is worth
having, and the reading and quiet time there will do me much good. I am already
longing for the warmth and brightness of Australia. I feel the cold much, and I
don’t think that I shall ever leave Australia again. Here for the last three
weeks we have had nothing else but snow, rain, fog, frost, and the sun seems to
spend all his energy in smiling on Australia." In a letter written on 12th
October he says: "It is satisfactory to feel the future is somewhat settled and
I am glad to go to New Guinea, although all my friends are somewhat
disappointed. I hope I have done that which is right in His sight. Time alone
will tell." This is the first reference in his letters to the work with which
his name will always be associated. No written record is to be found as to how
he came to offer him self for it. It is said that he was one day in the old
S.P.G. office in Delahay Street, wondering vaguely what he should do next. It
was remarked to him that a leader was sought for the proposed mission to New
Guinea, why should he not offer to go? With his usual impetuosity he went off at
once to see the Primate of Australia, Bishop Barry, and also Bishop Stanton, his
old bishop in North Queensland, who both happened to be in England at the time.
"It was in October, 1888," writes Miss Scarth, "that my sister and I had been up
to look at the Gordon statue, which was then new, in Trafalgar Square, and as we
were coming away we met Mr. Maclaren. He seemed rather excited and at once said,
’Will you tell your father I’ve just been to the S.P.G. and offered to go to New
Guinea?’ I am afraid we both received the news very indifferently, having little
idea where New Guinea was, but we undertook to deliver the message. I have often
thought since how damping our reception of the news must have been when he had
just taken the tremendous step and his heart was so full, but we did not mean
it."

"I remember his enthusiasm for the work for which he had volunteered in New
Guinea," writes the Rev. F.J. Albery, "and how he walked with me in Christ
Church meadows, and up and down the Broad Walk, discussing his hopes and
sketching his plans for the future like a great schoolboy, and yet behind it all
there was an evident realisation of the arduous char acter of the undertaking
which lay before him. We little knew how soon he was to be called away from the
scene of his last earthly labours."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 7: 05.  THE NEW GUINEA MISSION
========================================================================

Chapter 5 The New Guinea Mission

IF Australia is a continent, New Guinea, or Papua, is the largest island in the
world. Its total length from east to west is about 1,400 miles, and at the
broadest part it measures 490 miles. The first European to record its existence
was D’Abreu who sighted it in 1511. Other explorers of different nationalities
visited it from time to time, and in 1770 Captain Cook visited the south-west
coast. Little, however, was added to the knowledge of the country until 1845
when Captain Blackwood of H.M.S. Fly discovered the large river which afterwards
received the name of his ship.

Lieutenant Yule, in 1846, took observations on the south coast as far east as
the island which now bears his name, and in 1848 Captain Owen Stanley of H.M.S.
Rattlesnake made a rough survey of the south east coast, but the first really
important survey was that of Captain Moresby in command of H.M.S. Basilisk. In
1873 and again in 1874 he conducted a series of exact observations which
resulted in the mapping out of the greater part of the south-east coast line,
and the discovery of the harbour of Port Moresby and of the China Straits. Of
the people little was known until the settlement of the London Missionary
Society’s agents. The first settlement by Europeans took place in Dutch New
Guinea in the eighteenth century. On 1st July, 1871, Dr. Samuel Macfarlene and
Mr. D. W. Murray, of the London Missionary Society, accompanied by eight
Polynesian teachers, landed on Darnley Island in Torres Straits, and placed
teachers on it and on neighbouring islands, and in 1872 Mr. Murray was joined by
the Rev. Wyatt Gill and thirteen additional Polynesian teachers. Somerset Island
(Cape York) in that year became the headquarters of the London Missionary
Society’s New Guinea Mission, and in the same year the first station on the
mainland was established in Redscar Bay. In 1874 the Rev. W. G. Lawes with his
wife and child settled at Port Moresby. In October, Mr. And Mrs. Chalmers joined
the Mission. The south portion of New Guinea was formally taken under the
protection of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria on 6th November, 1884,
and a Protectorate was proclaimed by Commodore Erskine at Port Moresby. The
proclamation recognised that the establishment of a Protectorate had "become
essential for the lives and properties of the native inhabitants of New Guinea,
and for the purpose of preventing the occupation of portions of that country by
persons whose proceedings, unsanctioned by any lawful authority, might tend to
injustice, strife and bloodshed, and who, under the pretence of legitimate trade
and intercourse, might endanger the liberties and possess themselves of the
lands of such native inhabitants". In the year 1887 it became evident that a
mere Protectorate was not sufficient. Sir James Garrick, Agent-General for
Queensland, speaking at the Royal Colonial Institute, said: "It is clear that
matters can not remain as they are. There is at present no security in British
New Guinea for either life or property. There is no jurisdiction under which the
natives can be punished for the most cruel offences, and no control whatever
over the subjects of foreign States. Such a condition of things must lead to
reprisals, which will have a disastrous effect upon our future relations with
the natives. The remedy for this is to proclaim sovereignty, and to organise our
administration, which, while safeguarding the interests of the islanders, will
adequately represent the Imperial and Colonial interests."

These counsels prevailed with the British Government, and on 4 September, i888,
Dr. (afterwards Sir William) MacGregor made a proclamation at Port Moresby,
definitely annexing British New Guinea to the dominions of Queen Victoria,
thereby raising its status from a mere Protectorate to that of a Crown Colony.
Sir William MacGregor, as administrator of the colony, laid the foundations of
British rule in New Guinea.

Such in outline is the history of New Guinea up to the time when Maclaren
volunteered to lead the Anglican Mission to the newly annexed colony. In 1850,
when, at the suggestion of Bishop Selwyn, of New Zealand, a Board of Missions
was established for the six Australasian dioceses, New Guinea was among the
"dark islands contiguous to Australia" which it was to be the object of that
board one day to evangelise, and when the General Synod of the Dioceses in
Australia and Tasmania was constituted in 1872, it was decided that the synod
should have power to make determinations for the promoting of home and foreign
missions in the church. A determination thereupon was passed by which "the
Bishops forming the House of Bishops in the General Synod" were constituted "The
Board of Missions of the Church in the Dioceses in Australia and Tasmania," and
the work of the Board of Missions formed in 1850 was transferred to the new
board. An executive council was elected by the General Synod and each diocese
was invited to form a diocesan corresponding committee under the presidency of
its bishop. The first definite step towards establishing the Anglican Mission to
New Guinea may be said to have been taken, when, at the meeting of the General
Synod of Australia and Tasmania at Sydney in October, 1886, a resolution was
carried on the motion of the Bishop of North Queensland (Dr. Stanton), ’ That
the recent annexation of a portion of New Guinea imposes direct obligation upon
the Church to provide for the spiritual welfare, both of the natives and the
settlers. That, as the mission should be conducted on an adequate scale and
provision made for considerable outlay, its expenses should be shared by all
dioceses in Australia. Further that the Board of Missions be requested to
collect in formation with a view to immediate action," The Board of Missions,
through its executive council, under the influence of Bishop Barry, proceeded to
collect information and to seek for money and for men to undertake the work. In
1887 the S.P.G. set aside £1,000 and opened a special fund to assist the
Australian Church in planting a mission in New Guinea, and the S.P.C.K promised
£500. The C.M.S. wished a hearty "Godspeed," hut regretted its inability to give
any help. The response in Australia itself was not at first very warm. Again and
again during the next two years bishops and leaders appealed for men and means,
and complained of the want of sympathy and support. In February, 1888 (the
centenary of the founding of the colony of New South Wales), the Primate (Bishop
Barry) made the following appeal on behalf of the proposed mission:--

"The New Guinea Mission ought to be the chief missionary achievement of this
centennial year of the Church of England. Among the objects of the Centennial
Fund is rightly included the advance of missionary agency. The call to the New
Guinea Mission comes opportunely to awaken us at once to a larger conception of
our duty for Christ, and to a greater boldness of evangelistic enterprise. The
opportunity is a great one. The vast island of New Guinea is the last conquest
of our extending civilisation. The assumption of a British Protectorate over the
southern portion of it was in great measure forced by the pressure of Australian
opinion upon the authorities at home, who were reluctant to add to the enormous
responsibilities of British Empire. In the natural course of events, British
protectorate is developing into British sovereignty. It is found that only by
some unequivocal and direct authority can the arduous duty there undertaken be
satisfactorily performed. At no distant time we may expect to see this part of
New Guinea as thoroughly a part of British territory as is Fiji. Now by this
apparently irresistible tendency of events, the duty of the Church of Christ in
Australia is pressed upon us with increasing urgency. For good, and (I fear I
must add) for evil also, we have brought this vast territory with its large
population--how large, we as yet do not know--within the area of English power
and civilisation. If we believe that our Christianity is the true soul of that
power, and the salt of that civilisation, we must strain every nerve to carry it
with us in that intercourse with the native races on which we have insisted. In
the contact between a stronger and weaker race, if all is left to that selfish
assertion of strength, which is the survival in man of the great ’struggle for
existence,’ in organic life, the effect must be, as unhappily it has too often
been, the slavery, the degradation, and finally the extinction of the inferior
race. If this lower principle is to be tempered and subdued by the higher spirit
of self-sacrifice in the strong for the protection and exaltation of the weak,
which we rightly call humanity, the experience of ages has shown that this
spirit can only be quickened to a victorious power by the faith in Christian
brotherhood. The martyrdom of Bishop Patteson is a monument at once of the
cruelty of civilised selfishness, and of the love, willing to spend and to be
spent, for the helpless, which is the glory, almost the new creation, of
Christianity. In this glorious enterprise of the Christianisation of New Guinea,
much has been done already--on the one hand, by the splendid work of such men as
Chalmers and Lawes under the direction of the London Missionary Society, on the
other, by labours less known--probably as yet less effective--of a Roman
Catholic Mission. With their work who would wish, or dare, to interfere? But
they are able as yet to touch but a few points on that great coast line of more
than a thousand miles. Those who are already at work gladly invite the influx of
fresh labourers, as I myself know from communication with the Rev. W. G. Lawes.
As there is room, so there is a call for other missions, and that call has come
to us in this land. The Hon. John Douglas, Her Majesty’s High Commissioner,
himself pointed out a vacant sphere for missionary work which we might rightly
fill, and offered a hearty welcome to the enterprise. The invitation, brought
before our General Synod, was at once thankfully acknowledged and accepted, and
committed to the Board of Missions, which with its executive council and its
diocesan committees is the appointed missionary organisation of our Church. In
England, help is provided by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to
which our own Australian Church owes an incalculable debt of gratitude for
lavish aid of men and money in days gone by. But the main burden of the work
ought to be borne by us here. Some £2,000 a year (say for five years) is needed
to plant a small missionary community on the coast, with some means of transit
by sea. It is for this that appeal is now being made to the Church in the
various dioceses. If there is reasonable promise of assistance, it will be
possible for me on my approaching visit to England, in conference with the
Bishop of North Queensland, who is willing to undertake some general oversight
of the mission, to organise in this year, 1888, a start in this most important
work. I earnestly trust that the opportunity will not be lost; and that one
lesson of our centennial year will be the rising above the spiritual selfishness
which keeps all our resources to ourselves. Of churches, as of individuals, it
is true that ’Whoso is willing to lose his life shall find it unto the life
eternal.’" The invitation by Mr. Douglas to found a Church of England Mission in
New Guinea, referred to by Bishop Barry, was embodied in a paper read by Her
Majesty’s High Commissioner at the Church Congress held in Sydney in May of the
following year (1889). As this paper deals in detail with the difficulties which
would face Maclaren, several extracts from it are here given:--

"First, let me tell you what I think of the present position and prospects of
missionary enterprise on the coast of British New Guinea. Without doubt a great
work of pacification has been effected by the London Missionary Society. The
early years of this enterprise were full of noble self-sacrifice, of courageous
effort in the face of great dangers and difficulties. Wherever mission stations
were established along the whole coast from Teste Island to Motu Motu good work
has been done, and influences have been established to mitigate the gross
barbarism, superstition and ignorance of the native inhabitants. Old New Guinea,
with its picturesque savagery, has now passed away within the area of missionary
influence. But there is not much evidence as yet of growth in any direction.
From a religious point of view it is difficult for a mere outside observer, as I
have been, to recognise any palpable extension of the Kingdom of Heaven, though
there is a seemly attention to outward observances in some places. In morals, in
sanitation, in industrial art, there is some slight improvement. Too much,
however, must not be expected all at once. It is not more than sixteen years ago
since the mission station was first formed at Port Moresby, and the habits of a
people deeply rooted in primeval times cannot be changed in a single generation.
It would be unreasonable to expect it, or even to wish it, for any sudden change
would probably be fatal to the race. The history of the London Missionary
Society’s work in Torres Straits, and in Western New Guinea, has been different
to that of the eastern portion of the possession. The islanders of the Straits
proved themselves to be most receptive and gladly welcomed their instructors.
The intelligent and really apostolic enterprise of the first missionaries, aided
as they were by a band of South Sea Island teachers, produced excellent results.
Houses and churches were built, and schools were established, though no attempt
has been made to teach English, which I think is a great mistake. . . The
natives of Torres Straits have had the Gospel preached to them, and they have
not been unworthy hearers of it; but it is time that the preachers went farther
afield.

"The future of these people will now depend chiefly on their industrial
development, and in that the missionaries do not take any great interest. The
islanders are taking more heartily to pearl-shelling, bêche-de-mer fishing, and
to the curing of copra. They find that they can make money in that way, and they
like to buy clothes for themselves, smart bonnets and dresses for their wives,
and bright things for their children. They do not seem to have any special
craving for drink.

"On the whole then I think I can give a good account of the Torres Straits
islanders. Mission work, however, is at a standstill and is nearly defunct. Now
let me say a few words about the French Catholic Mission station at Yule Island.
Commenced in i886 it has got a fair footing, and promises to have an influential
career. They have made themselves partially acquainted with the natives at the
foot of Mount Yule, and have thus entered upon a wide field in a populous
district previously unexplored. One great advantage which this mission has, is,
that it has the assistance of lay members both male and female. At this place,
Thursday Island, where they commenced their mission, they have, by means of
their lay brethren, built a church and dwelling-houses, while at Yule Island
they are doing the same thing, so that they both work and pray, and they aim at
providing industrial training for the natives.

"They suffered at first from fever, but now they are pretty well free from it
and may be said to have got over the first difficulties of settlement. . .

"Having thus briefly glanced at the actual position in the past, let me now pass
on to the present. Along the coast of the Possession, as British New Guinea is
now called, there are still wide spaces of what may be called unappropriated
territory, i.e., unappropriated by missionary enterprise. There is the whole
north-east cost line from East Cape to Mitre Rock. Scarcely anything is known of
it, and yet it is now fairly accessible from China Straits where there is a
trading station and a Government establishment. Lastly there is the whole of the
Eastern Archipelago of Islands, including the Louisiade group. It is in this
portion of the Possession that, as I understand, it is the intention of the
Anglo-Australian Church to plant a mission. At present it is quite
unappropriated, for, with the exception of a South-Sea island teacher resident
at Teste Island, nothing has been done to give any instruction. Still we really
know these islanders better, and they know us better, than is the case in most
parts of the Possession. The recruiting in these islands for the Queensland
plantations was not an unmixed evil. Abominable as were some of the acts of the
men who recruited the islanders, the system was not without its advantages. They
learnt something of us, of our ways, and of our English language while they were
in Queensland, and the result has been a friendly feeling towards the white man,
which may be regarded as a hopeful commencement for future intercourse with
them. By nature and habit they are cruel and treacherous, but they have vastly
improved in these respects of late years, and I have known among them some
estimable and intelligent men. Many of them are fine sailors. Gold also has been
found on most of these islands, and it is probable, therefore, that there will
be a good deal of intercourse between the natives and the diggers. Hitherto the
relations between them have been of a perfectly friendly character.

"Of course, in establishing a Mission, everything will depend upon the men who
undertake it. Money in these matters is never the essential difficulty. If the
right man can be found, everything else follows. There must be the afflatus,’
the spiritual dedication to an unselfish work, and if besides this, there are
the mental and physical qualifications of perfect manhood, then the work of
those who go with the Divine Message of goodwill is full of interest, and I can
fancy also, of an enjoyment which it would be difficult to find in the beaten
paths of our civilised communities. The men indeed are to be envied, who in the
full vigour of unsullied manhood can enter with some justifiable confidence on
such a splendid vocation as that of instructors to such interesting children of
nature as these natives are.

"Let me note here, by way of suggestion, a few matters which may be worthy of
consideration by those upon whom the practical work of this mission will
devolve.

"(1) It must be assumed that a Mission schooner will be bought. It ought not to
be less than 50 tons burden, and not much more. Our typical missionaries should
be sailors, capable (if necessary) of sailing their own craft. I don’t mean to
say that at the outset we can expect them to be sailors, but they must shape for
that, and must learn to steer and navigate their vessel.

"They must certainly not be land lubbers; and above all things they ought to
have a thoroughly human interest in the natives, in their habits, their
superstitions, and even in their old barbarous ways. I have seen excellent men,
missionaries, who have not had a vestige in themselves of the savage, not a
particle of the picturesque Adam, in all his originality, and who were therefore
hopelessly out of touch with the primitive man as he is.

"(2) Let me plead for lay missioners, carpenters, artisans of any kind,
boat-builders, blacksmiths, tent- or sail- makers, as Paul of Tarsus was,
agriculturists, horticulturists, handy men of any kind, men with the fear of God
and the love of men in their hearts.

"Surely in the ranks of labour there are some men who might be found to devote
their lives to such a service. I plead then for unordained working-men who will
devote their lives to this sort of work, volunteers in a service full of
incident, full of adventure, and more attractive in many ways than the dull
monotonous grind of our great cities. They must necessarily be subject to
discipline, but above all things they ought to be good workers, patient and
forbearing, and if so I will back them to make a speedy impression among those
with whom they live, or whom they undertake to teach. One such white man would
be worth half a dozen teachers of the South-Sea Island pattern, such as I now
see around me in this neighbourhood.

"(3) As to the head station of the Mission. That I think should not be decided
on until the head of the Mission has had a good look round. The strategic base
of the Mission should be Cooktown, if the sphere of work is to be in the eastern
portion of New Guinea. Ultimately I assume that a school or training college for
young natives will have to be established. Cooktown, I think, would be the best
place for such an institution, but it will probably be some time before anything
of that kind can be attempted.

"I do hope that good men will be found for the work. They ought to be tough men,
in the prime of life, with lots of go, and some of them ought to be lay workmen
who will work for the love of it. The climate at certain seasons is trying, but
I don’t believe that it is a seriously unhealthy one, if proper precautions are
taken."

Soon after the publication of his appeal to the Australian Church, Bishop Barry
returned to England, and "most willingly accepted" Maclaren’s offer to the
proposed Mission, though he, in common with many others, considered him more
fitted for evangelistic than for the ordinary routine of pastoral work.

Maclaren’s attention was now turned to preparation for his new sphere of labour,
but he had yet to take his degree at Durham. From Newbury he writes to Mrs.
Scarth that he is trying to read ten hours a day for his examination in June,
’but at the end of eight, I find my head becomes somewhat like a boiled
turnip--rather soft--and yet I fear I shall fail".

He passed his final examination at Durham, early in October, 1889. On 25th
October, he received his benediction at S. Augustine’s College, Canterbury. "It
was very quiet, but so solemn," he writes. "The Warden gave a very earnest
address. I am so glad I was able to go." On his last Sunday in England, 27th
October, he celebrated the Holy Communion in the beautiful little village church
at Wymering, where he had sung in the choir as a boy. He also preached at
Matins. In the evening he preached at S. Mary’s, Portsea, and stayed the night
with Canon Jacob (now Bishop of S. Albans) who had a warm regard for him. On
31st October there was an early celebration of the Holy Communion at Bearsted
and immediately afterwards Maclaren (accompanied by Canon Scarth) left for the
Royal Albert Docks to join the Valet As it steamed down the river, the bells of
S. Andrew’s Waterside Mission Church, Gravesend, with which church Maclaren had
at one time been connected, rang a parting peal.

"I am going forth," he had written a short time be fore, "to tell the poor
people of New Guinea of the wondrous love of’ the Good Shepherd, who came
Himself to seek and save them, and to offer them Him who alone can satisfy the
longings of the human heart of the poor savage as well as the desires of those
who have been brought out of darkness into light. I ask your earnest prayers for
myself and my companions.

"The first command of Christ was ’Follow’ Me, and I will make you fishers of
men,’ and the last was ’Go and teach all nations,’ and at His command we are
going forth. . . . Remember then in your prayers and in your freewill offerings
the New Guinea Mission, that men may come forward who will be ready to sacrifice
much for the extension of our Lord’s Kingdom in that distant part of the world,
and that money may be forthcoming to supply all that they need, so that we may
help to bring to pass the words of our Lord, ’I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto Me’."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 8: 06.  FIRST VISIT TO NEW GUINEA
========================================================================

Chapter 6 First Visit to New Guinea A FELLOW-PASSENGER on the Valetta
writes:--"On 3 October, 1889, I was standing on the deck of the P. & O. SS.
Valetta and the moorings were just being cast off when I noticed the rather
grave face of a clergyman standing near me. I remarked to him, ’We shall not be
on English soil again just yet’. He answered, ’Ah; but it is good-bye for me’. I
said, ’Oh, I hope not’. He shook his head and replied, ’Yes--New Guinea’. We saw
little more of each other then, but later in the voyage I often remarked his
kind and considerate manner to all on board, both in the first and second
saloon. He was always trying to add to the comfort of the passengers by bringing
those together to whom he thought the companionship would be a pleasure, and
constantly trying to help those who were unable to resist the temptation of the
bar. After the first Sunday (spent in the Bay) he always conducted the services.
His sermons and his manner of conducting the service were much liked. During the
latter part of the voyage a general wish was expressed to give him some proof of
the estimation in which he was held, and this resolved itself into a
subscription to a fund to be handed to him to use in any way he wished for the
purposes of the New Guinea Mission. It amounted to nearly £25, and was presented
to him by a leading subscriber, with an address expressing the thanks and good
wishes of all, and I must say that (whether rightly or wrongly) there was a
feeling of regret that a man with such a power of influencing others should be
leaving England for a country where the climate is so deadly and the natives
often dangerously hostile. I well remember that in his answer to the address, he
stated that he had left England, not because he had no work there, but because
he felt that the mission was a call from God, and he had obeyed it. He went
forth, knowing its dangers, but feeling sure that, should he fall, others would
rise up and be ready and able to take his place, and that missionary work would
still go on." In a letter from Brindisi he wrote: "The ship’s doctor is
continually trying to persuade me to return to England, as he thinks I am not
rough enough for New Guinea, but I tell him it is not a question of what a man
likes, but submission to the Great Will of God. . . . He is a good man though,
and I think means well."

Later on he wrote: "The sea is the place to observe people under very different
aspects from the land, and the number of different opinions on religion is very
striking. I try not to argue, but when I do I think I hold my own. There is a
little baby here which has taken a most violent fancy for me, and consequently I
have to nurse it at intervals during the day. It is a strange feeling going away
from all that is most dear to me, but I know that I am going to a good work and
that many are interested and help me in their prayers. I am glad to say I have
never yet regretted the step I have taken, and I feel that our Lord is leading
me on to that which is best.

"I meet with much kindness everywhere and only hope the natives will like me and
then all will be well. I have made one or two good friends on board who will I
trust, take an interest in New Guinea in years to come. We have a vice-president
of the Church Association with us, and he told me to-day, if all High Church men
were not more so than I am, he would be one to-morrow. He went round and
collected the £20 for New Guinea. How often one’s opponents look worse at a
distance."

They reached Sydney on the 20th of December, and Christmas Eve found Maclaren
once more at his old parish of S. Paul’s, West Maitland. In January, 1890, he
returned to Sydney and for a short time resided at S. Paul’s College. On 29th
January he writes: "I am in the midst of taking a Retreat for clergy (only eight
altogether) away in the Bush 200 miles from Sydney. Some of the clergy have
ridden eighty miles to come. We had Holy Communion at 7 AM. with an address on
’Union with Christ, the Basis of the Spiritual Life’. At A.M. Matins with an
address on ’Come ye yourselves apart’. At 12 A.M. Litany with an address on ’God
Attracting on the Cross and from His Throne’. At 3 P.M. another address, and
meditation later, and at 7.30 P.M. a missionary sermon for New Guinea. I am
taking lectures at the hospital in Sydney, so you see I am fully occupied, but
it is the happiest life. I have been reading a lot of books on missionary work.
. . I hope you will do all you can to help me to get a beautiful sanctuary for
our first church in New Guinea. Dr. Livingstone said we ought always to build
the church first. Since I wrote the last we have finished our Quiet Day. I have
heard some of the hard and difficult work of the Bush clergy. How they need
encouragement." In February, 1890, it was thought advisable that Maclaren should
proceed at once to New Guinea on a preliminary visit. The account of this short
visit and of the voyage to New Guinea viâ Thursday Island can be given in his
own words:--

"I left Sydney on Friday evening and travelled overland to Brisbane, arriving on
Sunday morning at 6.30. I preached three times, and on Monday held a meeting,
and on Tuesday a farewell service in the pro-Cathedral. N 40 was given to New
Guinea. On Tuesday I left Brisbane in the Warrego for Thurs day Island, where I
hope to catch the Governor’s yacht, and steam thence to New Guinea. I am going
at a bad time as it is the wet season, but it is necessary that some one should
go at once. I have just been reading the last report of the Governor. He speaks
gloomily of the fever, which every one seems to have. With me on board is Sir
William MacGregor’s private secretary who has only been in New Guinea for six
months; he is almost a wreck, the result of several fever attacks, but I shall
know more about it before I write again, and shall be able to speak more clearly
about the place and its dangers. I know you will all remember me in your prayers
while I go on my way--nay, not on mine, but His. The future will be different to
me from all that has gone before, and I feel so utterly ignorant of how I ought
to act, but He will guide me aright. I expect to be in New Guinea about two
months and then return to Sydney.

Ask the village folk to remember me in their prayers, and especially at the Good
Friday service. Everything is so different now, though I know I am going to
raise the standard of our King and His Church among those who know Him not.
Still one is but human. . .

Again, writing to Bearsted on 15 February, 1890, from Bishop’s Lodge,
Townsville, he says: "I spent the night at Bishop’s Lodge, the residence of the
Bishop of North Queensland, and as he was away from home I had the honour of
sleeping on an episcopal bed which was by no means as grand as the plainest one
at Bearsted Vicarage. Apostolic simplicity is marked on everything here." The
following letter to one of his Bearsted friends gives an account of his short
visit to the islands off the south-west coast--Cornwallis Island and Sabai--and
tells of his first meeting with Mr. Chalmers, the great missionary of the London
Missionary Society.

"SS. Merrie England, "OFF NEW GUINEA, "26th February, 1890.

". . . I have just paid my first visit to New Guinea. We left Australian Waters
on Saturday morning and arrived off the coast of New Guinea late on the same
day. On Sunday morning we had a short service on board and later in the day the
Governor, Sir William MacGregor, arrived. I went on to a small
island--Cornwallis or Douan. It is rather pretty. There are about 100 Papuans
living there, and they have a black missionary teacher settled among them. The
church is primitive and the only furniture is a simple pulpit with a heart in
front of it. The singing was good, but as it was in the native language I
couldn’t understand it at all. The captain bought some fowls from them and paid
for them in tobacco, this being their only money, five sticks of tobacco were
given for one fowl. It was late in the evening on Saturday when we visited them,
and the captain asked them to bring some more fowls off to the SS. Merrie
England next day. They replied, ’To-morrow Sunday, no sell ’em that day’. So you
see the teaching has not been ineffectual. It was strange to see them, and when
they were told that I was a ’missionary come along Queen Victoria land,’ they
all came and shook hands, men, women and children. In the church, the men sit on
one side, the women on the other, and the precentor always sings the first half
of the line by himself, like we do, in Gregorian tones. On Monday we visited
another island--Sabai--where we saw 250 people, and the captain had scrambles of
bits of tobacco on the beach for the children, and then for the old men.

"Some boys climbed trees and plucked coco-nuts and gave us the milk to drink. We
went to the little church and the only furniture was a pulpit and a pew, in
which the native king, the police and the missionary’s black wife sat. They sang
two hymns for us--very heartily--all sitting on the floor in the little church.
Poor things, how little they know, and yet possibly they make more use of it
than we do. The black missionary teacher has such a peaceful countenance, and
submissive devotion to his Master has left its beautiful mark upon his otherwise
ordinary features. We left in the evening thoroughly pleased with our visit. On
board the SS. Merrie England I met Chalmers the great L.M.S. missionary and I
liked him much. He has been with us since Sunday and only left this morning, so
that I had long talks with him.

"My object in coming over to New Guinea is to see Sir William MacGregor with
reference to our mission, and I am sorry to find that the Wesleyans have taken
possession of our centre of work, so that we shall have to seek a new field. I
think I told you that we had decided to take up the Louisiade group of islands
at the east end of New Guinea. Now we shall have to go to the mainland. If you
have a chart of New Guinea look on the north-east coast, and you will see in
latitude 8, Mitre Rock. It is the border between British and German New Guinea.
From Mitre Rock to East Cape is now our proposed sphere of work, and Chads Bay
will be our first station. I am now returning to Australia to see the bishops,
and I come back here in about a month’s time to go with Sir William MacGregor to
inspect our new quarters. I have had a bad time of it at sea. I expect to spend
Easter at Port Moresby, New Guinea. I am reading Lux Mundi, Gore’s new book. He
would be astonished to hear that it has already reached New Guinea. You will, I
am sure, help me in your new parish and will plead with Him we are both trying
to follow and to love, that our work may be blessed and strengthened by His
perpetual presence." This flying visit to New Guinea only lasted four or five
days, for 28th February finds Maclaren writing again from Thursday Island
pleading for spiritual help to be sent to that island, and giving an interesting
account of a visit to the leper station on Dayman Island. "I am staying," he
writes, "with the Hon. John Douglas, C.M.G., the Government Resident here. His
brother was Bishop of Bombay. I stay here over Sunday. Thursday Island is a
small, but important place; it contains about 400 white people and many natives.
The only place of worship is the Roman Catholic Chapel. The priest is a very
pleasant man, and has given me much information in regard to his mission in New
Guinea. Their clergy receive £40 a year, the lay brothers £20 and the sisters
the same. My reason for staying over Sunday is to have services in the Court
House for our people, of whom there are a good many, and to try and get a
Sunday-school established. It is a great pity that so many places like this are
not worked better. I have just been talking to Mr. Douglas about it and have
learnt from him that there is a maritime floating population of 1,500 people
here, and that a great many ships stop here from all parts of the world. The
leper station is only eighteen miles away. I visited it yesterday on board the
SS. Albatross and saw five poor lepers. I was not allowed to go within ten yards
of them, but I had a long talk with them. Two are Chinamen, one a Malay, and the
other two are natives. I asked them if they were Christians, and they all said
’No’. I asked them if they could read, and one said ’Yes,’ but that they had
nothing to read. I promised to send them a New Testament and a Prayer and Hymn
Book. Cannot you send an illustrated paper to them? the other papers would not
be of interest. Please don’t forget, because I promised to see to this and would
not for worlds disappoint them. They are all happy and are well cared for by the
Queensland Government. We took them a sheep, some vegetables, rice, flour,
fruit, fish, etc. Each has his own little iron house. . . . None of the poor men
seem to suffer much, but one was dreadfully disfigured and another had his face
twice the ordinary size. They seemed pleased to see the ’Padre’--that is the
name by which I was introduced to them. The Chinamen asked for China onions,
China cabbage, etc., and offered money, but we could not touch it as the law
forbids all contact with them.

"This is a lovely place and the sunrise and sunset are beyond description.
Islands are all round us and little iron houses dotted about along the beach,
but the mosquitoes are terrible. Staying with us is a L.M.S. missionary and his
wife and little child. They are reading their mail, the first they have received
for nearly four months. They live at Murray Island, and are going to Sydney for
a short holiday. I liked Mr. Chalmers much and we became friends at once. He
makes one laugh with his weird stories about New Guinea. They call him ’Tamate,’
the nearest approach they can make to pronouncing’ Chalmers’. I am going to pay
him a visit at his station in Motu Motu soon.

"On Wednesday I am going to Townsville to see Bishop Stanton, then I return to
Cooktown and go again to New Guinea till the end of June. How tired I am of
moving about, and how glad I shall be to get settled."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 9: 07.  THE WRECK OF THE S.S. QUETTA
========================================================================

Chapter 7 The Wreck of the S.S. Quetta

WHILE Maclaren was waiting to get away from Thursday Island, news arrived which
was to strike consternation and sorrow into every heart in Australia. The
British India royal mail steamer Quetta, bound from Brisbane to England with 291
souls on board, struck on an uncharted rock near Adolphus Island (Albany Pass)
on the night of 28th February, 1890, and sank in less than three minutes. It was
a beautiful and calm night, and many of the ladies were singing in the music
saloon, practising for a concert, others were writing letters in the saloon.
Some of the survivors said that the noise caused by the vessel in striking
sounded like a tank going overboard, then there was a grating sound, and then a
swell of water from the engine-room. The ship did not seem to sink, the water
merely seemed to rise round her. Then the stern rose high out of the water, and
the propeller and a large part of the keel became visible. She hung in that
position for about half a minute, then listed to port and suddenly disappeared.
The captain had ordered the boats to be lowered directly she struck, and called
out, "All who want to be saved, come aft". Some of the ship wrecked passengers
and crew reached Mount Adolphus Island clinging to the boats, and next morning
one of the boats went to Somerset to wire to Thursday Island for assistance.
Orders were given by the Government Resident, the Hon. John Douglas, to Captain
Reid of the little steamer Albatross, to proceed immediately to the scene of the
wreck, and Captain Hennessey of the Merrie England offered to go as well in the
New Guinea Government yacht, so in less than an hour she weighed anchor and was
on her way. On board the Albatross were Dr. Salter of Thursday Island, Captain
Wilkie and Maclaren. It was Maclaren who supplied to the Queensland press all
details concerning the search for the survivors. The following account is in his
own words:--

"About three hours after leaving Thursday Island the Albatross came alongside
the SS. Victoria and took on board Captain Sanders (R.M.S. Quetta), the pilot
(Captain Keating) and some lascars, and at once proceeded on her way to Mount
Adolphus Island, where nearly a hundred shipwrecked people anxiously awaited her
arrival, among them being the second and fourth officers and the quartermaster
of the Quetta. Many of us were touched when we saw the attachment of a Javanese
to a little white child about three years of age. He had rescued her from the
deep and had tended her with the greatest care. The poor little child was
calling for ’mamma,’ and he told us she had been crying out all day for her. We
gave her milk and wrapped her in some pyjamas till other clothing arrived by the
steamer Merrie England. Shortly after we had at tended to the wants of the
shipwrecked people the Merrie England arrived, commanded by Captain Hennessey,
bringing with her articles of wearing apparel which the kind-hearted people of
Thursday Island had collected and sent on board. They had accepted the services
of Miss Brown, who volunteered to act as stewardess in case there might be some
ladies rescued from the wreck. . . . Soon after the arrival of the Merrie
England the shipwrecked people were transhipped to her, and both ships anchored
till the dawn of day, when, having prearranged different routes in which to
search for other survivors who might be cast adrift, they set off on their work.
As I was on board the SS. Albatross, I can only give a detailed account of our
own movements. Captain Reid steamed at once for Mount Adolphus Island, where
four men were seen on the rock waving something white, and walking up and down.
A boat was sent off, and they were brought on board and taken care of. Then we
steamed along the island and sent a boat off at the other end to search for men,
which the Albatross called for later on in the day, and took on board one man
whom those in the boat had found. Then we steamed towards the Three Brothers
Island, when Captain Reid, who never left the bridge for an instant, but with
glass in hand scanned the sea in every direction, suddenly saw some thing not
much larger than a coco-nut floating out to sea. He steamed towards it, and as
we drew nearer saw that it was a person swimming. A boat was sent out and a
young lady was lifted in. One of the sailors took off his flannel shirt and
wrapped her in it, but she had in the meantime fainted. I recognised her as Miss
May Lacy, of S. Helen’s Station, Mackay. She was much exhausted, but thanks to
the care of Dr. Salter is fast recovering, though she is very weak and burnt by
exposure to the sun. Her story is that she was writing a letter to her mother
when the sad event happened and she rushed to get her younger sister, who had
gone to bed, and brought her on deck. Both went over together and she was
afterwards dragged into a boat or raft, where she was kindly treated by the
purser. She remained on the raft till the afternoon of Saturday, when, the
purser tells me, she determined to swim to the shore, so that she must have been
swimming about till she was seen by Captain Reid at 8.10 this morning. Her
rescue is almost miraculous, as she was drifting out to sea away from Mount
Adolphus Island, and could not have held out much longer.

"We passed over the scene of the terrible wreck, and, at the request of Captain
Reid, I read the service of the Church of England, in the presence of the
captain, Mr. Corser, Pilot Keating, Dr. Salter and the crew."

It was Tuesday night, 4 March, when the Albatross returned to Thursday Island,
having been out on her work of rescue since Saturday afternoon. The kindness and
self-sacrifice so generally shown were the one bright spot on a very dark
picture of suffering and death. Maclaren earned public thanks for what he had
done, and his memory will long be gratefully enshrined in sorrowing hearts for
his love and care for their dear ones in those terrible days, It was at
Maclaren’s suggestion that what is now known as the "Quetta Memorial Church" was
erected in 1890 on Thursday Island, as a thank-offering on behalf of those who
had been saved, as well as a memorial to those whose lives had been lost.

He wrote to the Queensland press on 26th April, 1890:--

"Will you permit me, through the columns of your paper, to solicit the interest
of my fellow-churchmen in Queensland in a matter which has suggested itself to
me during the last few days--the erection of a small church on Thursday Island
as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the sad Quetta disaster? We all
know that among those who are sleeping peacefully beneath the placid waters of
Torres Straits are some who took a very earnest interest in all that concerns
the welfare of the Anglican Church in this vast colony, and I know of no more
suitable way of recognising their services and perpetuating their memory than by
the erection of a mall church on Thursday Island. For it is the nearest spot to
the sad scene of the Quetta wreck, and a church there is much needed; and in the
second place (though the Thursday Island residents would be the last to wish
their generous unselfishness to be noticed), all classes and creeds were
assiduous in their anxiety to do what they could to aid the needy and the
sufferers. I therefore venture to make the suggestion and trust to the
liberality of English churchmen throughout the colony to make a united effort to
carry it through.

"The time has come when there should be an Anglican church erected on the
island, and a resident clergyman appointed to minister to the Europeans who are
not members of the Roman obedience, and also to take some interest in the
aboriginals and other coloured nationalities on it and the islands adjacent." On
25th July, 1890, Maclaren’s suggestion took practical shape in a meeting held at
the Court House, Thursday Island, and presided over by the Bishop of North
Queensland--Dr. Stanton. At the meeting the following resolution was adopted:
"That in the opinion of this meeting it is desirable that a church and parson
age be erected on Thursday Island; the church to be a memorial of those who were
lost in the wreck of the Quetta on the night of 28th February last and that the
present Church committee take the necessary steps for carrying this into
effect".

Prior to this date the Anglican Church in Thursday Island had no resident
clergyman and no church building. The first requirements were to provide for a
resident clergyman, and to provide a suitable house for him. During 1890-91 a
parsonage was built and the Rev. W. Maitland Woods, M.A., was duly installed as
the first rector by the bishop of the diocese.

We can imagine what satisfaction this appointment gave to Maclaren, whose keen
interest in the cosmopolitan little island and earnest desire that something
should be done for the spiritual welfare of the shifting, seafaring population
we have already seen. The appeal for funds to build a church resulted in the sum
of £2,000 being raised, and the chancel and four bays were built in concrete,
the aisles being added later with temporary walls of wood. The chancel was
consecrated by Bishop Barlow on 12th November, 1893. The memorial church, though
not even yet completed, has become the home of some who have no home with out
it, and is the centre of a widespread missionary influence. During 1907 thirty
Javanese have been baptised and received into communion with the Church. The
services held in the church are attended by numbers of South-Sea Islanders, many
of whom are communicants. In 1900 the Quetta Memorial Church became the
cathedral church of the new See of Carpentaria.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 10: 08.  SECOND VISIT TO NEW GUINEA
========================================================================

Chapter 8 Second Visit to New Guinea IN March and April, 1890, Maclaren
travelled in North Queensland. He visited his old parish of Mackay, and
Townsville and Cooktown, whilst waiting rather anxiously to cross again to New
Guinea. "I am feeling lonely and dull, and anxious to get to work in New
Guinea," he writes. "How one’s patience is tried when one longs for work and
can’t get it. Here (at Cooktown) I am waiting for the ship to come to take me
over. I am tired of waiting, and the delay gives one time to think over the past
and long for England again. It is difficult, too, to write letters in this
terribly relaxing climate! We need your prayers and sympathy more than you can
tell." At last on Friday, 1st May, after a celebration of the Holy Communion at
Christ Church, Cooktown, he started for New Guinea on the SS. Merrie England. He
notes in his diary: "We arrived at Port Moresby on Sunday, 3rd May, at 10.30 AM.
Soon after, I went ashore and was introduced to Mr. Musgrave, the Government
Secretary. We returned to the SS. Merrie England, and after lunch went off to
the London Missionary Society’s Mission. On our way we met the bearer of a
letter from Mr. Lawes, welcoming me to the mission. When we got near the shore
as the tide was low we were carried to land on the backs of some natives.
Captain Hennessey, in trying to get his carriers to land him before mine could
land me, was tumbled off into the water, and had to appear in missionary attire
at the service. We were welcomed by Mr. Lawes and his assistant Mr. Dauncey, who
met us on the shore.

"At 3 P.M. we wended our way to the church, a large substantial building with a
cross at each end, but perfectly plain inside. As the bell was ringing, it was
interesting to watch the Papuans assembling for the service. Some wore their
native dress, while others wore, in addition, hats of brilliant designs, red and
yel low being the prevailing colours. The men had on white singlets and a
Turkey-red garment down to the knees, not unlike the dress of an acolyte at S.
Peter’s, London Docks. Inside the church we found the congregation seated on the
floor, which was beautifully clean. The men and women were divided and the
Christians were also separated from those who had not professed their faith in
Christ. I had a seat given me by the side of Mr. Lawes. The service was of a
simple but impressive character. A hymn was given out by Mr. Dauncey, which was
heartily sung in Motu by the whole congregation sitting, and without any musical
instrument to assist them, and very well it sounded. After this a prayer was
offered by one of the native teachers, then another hymn, then a lesson, and the
sermon by Mr. Dauncey, then another hymn, and a short baptismal service, when
some sixteen adults were solemnly admitted into the Church. Then the communion
followed, the whole of the congregation remaining. Instead of wine the milk of
the coco-nut was used. Altogether it was a most interesting service, and one
could not but feel deeply thankful that such a noble work has been accomplished
by the agents of the L.M.S. among the Papuans of New Guinea. The congregation
was most reverent and attentive, though they sat on the floor during the whole
of the singing, reading and praying--their heads were bent low when prayer was
offered to God.

"After the service I had a long conversation with Mr. Lawes about his work in
New Guinea and the translation of the New Testament into Motu which he is just
finishing. He gave me a copy of his Motu grammar. He thinks that Motu should be
made the basis of the whole British New Guinea languages and in this he is
supported by Sir William MacGregor.

"The people at the Mission welcomed me most warmly and made me feel quite at
home. They have been here twenty years. They say that I am liberal-minded, and
that the last English clergyman they had here would not go to the service nor
take part in their family prayer. I do all. Am I not right? Surely in a heathen
country we don’t want to shock the poor natives with our unhappy divisions. God
listens to us all. . . . I trust I am none the less a Catholic in its deepest
meaning."

Dr. Lawes, referring to this visit of Maclaren after hearing of his death, said:
"One afternoon in May, 1890, I had the pleasure of welcoming our brother to Port
Moresby. It was the Communion Sabbath and he went with us to the native church
and with evident pleasure joined with us in that service. We sat side by side
and united with native communicants in that solemn commemorative feast which
makes one all the families of men. It was at the table of our Lord that we first
met in Christian brotherhood, and all I after wards saw and knew of our brother
deepened the impressions then received of him as a large-hearted, liberal-minded
Christian, full of simple faith and love to Christ. Before the Sabbath closed he
was on the footing of an old friend; and by his unaffected, genuine character
had established himself in our home as a beloved brother. During that first
visit to New Guinea he was a frequent visitor and an honoured guest in our
house. 1-le was very observant and of a receptive mind. Preconceived plans and
schemes were readily abandoned when once he saw their inadvisability or
weakness. After that visit of inspection he left New Guinea with clearer views
and more practical ideas of his work and its requirements than he had before. He
discussed plans for the future with all the earnestness and common sense with
which he was so largely endowed. In our council, concerning the districts to be
occupied by the different missionary societies and arrangements to prevent any
future discord or clashing, he was liberal-minded and catholic. He won the
esteem and affection of all the missionary brethren he met in New Guinea, while
his power of human sympathy secured him the trust and confidence of the natives
everywhere."

Returning to Maclaren’s diary we read--still under date of 4 May: "A small
church is nearly completed at Port Moresby for the use of all denominations, but
as the money for its erection was raised by Mr. Lawes I certainly think it would
save squabbling in the future if it were vested in the L.M.S. At the present
time the Church of England service is read every Sunday morning at Mr. Goldie’s
residence by Mr. Lawes, but when the little church is finished the service will
be held in it. In the evening I dined with Mr. Musgrave and Judge Winter, and
later on I paid a second visit to the mission house and met the Rev. A. Pearce
and his wife who had just come from their mission station sixty miles east at
Kerepuna.

"Monday, 5th May.--I had a long talk with Mr. Lawes concerning native teachers
from the South- Sea Islands. He spoke warmly of their assistance, but advised me
to do my utmost to train the native Papuan boys for missionary work among their
own fellow-countrymen. The natives who rowed us off to the mission station were
interested in my coloured glasses, and each had a look through them. Their noses
being flat they could not make them stick on as I could.

"I visited the three villages of Port Moresby. The women were busily engaged
making pottery for trading purposes farther West. They exchange it for sago,
etc. Everywhere we were constantly asked for tobacco. Some of the women were
very old and the children had terrible skin diseases. Their houses are clean.
Their food consists of fish, sago, bananas and yams. Some of the women had their
heads shaved s a sign that their husbands were away. They are all kind to their
children and fond of them. Their dress is simple, but they are fond of gay
clothes.

"Wednesday, 7th May.--We left Port Moresby at 7.30 A.M. for Yule Island, and
after a delay of about forty minutes on the way, owing to a severe storm, we
reached the anchorage at 4.10 in the afternoon. The next morning Captain
Hennessey took me to call on the Roman Catholic missionaries. We found the
bishop absent with Sir William MacGregor up the South Joseph’s River, but two of
the fathers received us and introduced us to the rev, mother and five other
sisters. They were pleasant and told us about their work. The houses in which
they live are primitive native buildings, and yet they were all happy and
contented though they had suffered terribly from fever.

"The fathers and brothers were engaged in erecting new houses nearer the
landing-place, the new buildings being made of iron and wood--the wood of the
island, cut, sawn and prepared by themselves. There is a large house for the
Presbytery, a Chapel and Sisters’ House. Their work among the natives I did not
see, as it was some distance off.

"We left the Merrie England in a boat for a village named Lala or Naale, about
twelve miles away. A murder had been committed in this village about a fortnight
ago, a poor woman having been set upon by two boys at the instigation of an
older man, but though the Governor had been to arrest them, they had eluded him.
Our journey was taken for the purpose of capturing them. We left the SS. Merrie
England at 3 P.M. on Thursday afternoon and reached a small village on the coast
about 5 P.M. and at once started for Lala. We believed it to be not more than
four miles away, whereas it turned out to be at least eight. The first mile and
a half was along the coast just inside the mangrove. The next four through a
thick scrub and the remainder through deep grass. Before we had got more than a
mile into the scrub it got so dark that we were in danger of being bushed for
the night as there was only a small and scarcely visible foot-track. Had it not
been for the native boy it would have been impossible to have continued our
journey, as it was, it was most unpleasant. However, we reached Lala about 9.30,
after more than four hours’ tramp. Unfortunately we had not brought any food and
could only get some indifferent bananas. The village is situated in a small
valley surrounded with hills. The population consists of about thirty men, forty
women and some children. The native teacher’s house is very good and his garden
well cared for. On our arrival we rested under the teacher’s house for ten
minutes and then proceeded to the dwelling of the murderer. It was a weird
scene. On our nearing the village we heard the natives laughing and talking and
the dogs howling, and they had no idea that we were there. As soon as we came
within thirty yards of the house a rush was made and the party surrounded it. In
a moment there was dead silence while the man inside rushed on to the verandah
(of his house) and tried to get away. Captain Hennessey caught him, and, as he
tried to escape, he fired a rifle over his head, at the sound of which all the
natives rushed out of their houses and made for the Bush. The murderer was
handcuffed and led back to the native teacher’s house, where we camped for the
night. The prisoner was fastened to the door of the room in which I slept.

"Early the next morning we left for the SS. Merrie England, after having had
some sweet potatoes and a drink of hot water. On our journey homeward we passed
through a small village in which we found the people making native pottery. They
gave us some water-melons and coco-nuts in return for some tobacco, which is the
money most valued by the Papuans. We arrived on board the SS. Merrie England at
12 noon, thoroughly tired.

"At 6 P.M. the Governor, Sir William MacGregor, arrived from his trip up the S.
Joseph’s River with Bishop Verjus. British New Guinea is to be envied in having
such a man as Sir William MacGregor as its Administrator. His whole life is
spent in studying the natives and endeavouring to understand their
peculiarities. Already he has gained a marvellous influence over them and they
recognise him as the ’Big Chief of New Guinea’. He is also deeply interested in
missionary work, and I feel sure that we shall have in him one who will do all
in his power to help us. We had a long conversation yesterday relating to our
proposed Mission, and he thinks the north-east coast will be a splendid field
for our future work. Up to the present little is known about it.

"Sunday, 11th May.--Sir William MacGregor left at 9 A.M. for Maiva and the SS.
Merrie England steamed to Motu to visit Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers. On our arrival at
2 P.M. we found Mrs. Chalmers alone. After taking a walk through the native
village we returned to the church, where we had service in the native tongue,
conducted by the teacher. We left again at 4 P.M. and returned to Yule Island.
At 11 A.M. we had morning service, at which all the crew and officers attended.

"On Monday at nine I went ashore, and having visited Maiva I accompanied Sir
William to a village five miles west, but owing to a severe attack of fever and
ague, Sir William was unable to proceed farther than within one and a half miles
of the village. Ava, a native, and I went up to Kevori through a swamp, up to
our loins in mud and water, and brought the chief and about a hundred natives
down to Sir William, who compelled them to make peace with the people of Maiva.
The scene was an interesting one. Beneath the palm-trees the Governor was lying,
very ill with fever, attended by the native teachers’ wives, who did all they
could to minister to his needs, while the chief of Kevori and his men stood
round and listened to the Governor’s speech through the native teacher. Tobacco
and betel-nuts were freely distributed, and each man who made a speech received
a stick of tobacco.

"Great was the astonishment when about sixteen white men came up from the S.S.
Merrie England with guns and flags. This was done to impress the natives with
the power and authority of English rule.

"About four we left and returned to Maiva, where we took up our quarters at the
native teacher’s house for the night. Some of the natives are very
interesting--one named Himurra-murra became much attached to me and said he
would like to go to sea as a sailor. I gave him some tobacco and promised to
send him a shirt by ’Tamate’ (Mr. Chalmers) from Port Moresby. I gave Ava a
piece of Turkey red cloth, which he gave to his wile and it was worn by her at
evening prayers. During the evening sortie six or seven natives went on to the
beach with me and I tried to teach them the music of a hymn--I69-- The Mill
Wheel,’ which they quickly sang after me. I also sang some hymns to them, which
they listened to very attentively. My glasses amused them, also my umbrella. I
sat down on a tree on the beach to put on my boots and stuck my umbrella into
the sand, when a big wave came up suddenly and carried it out to sea. The native
teacher gave me a bird of paradise and some very curious charms.

"Tuesday, 13th May.--At eight we returned to the SS. Merrie England and sailed
for Port Moresby, which we reached at 6.30 P.M.

"Wednesday, 14th May.--I went ashore and met Messrs. Chalmers, Lawes and Pearce
of Kerepuna, and it was resolved that the Anglican Mission should extend from
Cape Ducie to Mitre Rock on the north-east coast, while the Wesleyans were to
take the islands." This agreement is described in the following letter to the
Australian Board of Missions:--

"At a conference held at Port Moresby on 17th June, 1890, at which were present
the Rev. W. G. Lawes, F. W. Walker and H. Dauncey, of the London Missionary
Society, the Rev. G. Brown, Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and
the Rev. A. A. Maclaren of the Anglo-Australian Board of Missions, the following
statements and recommendations were adopted as expressing the views and opinions
of those present:--"We regret the misunderstanding that has arisen with respect
to the fields of labour to be occupied by the respective societies, owing to the
fact that the Louisiade and the adjacent islands were suggested to the
Anglo-Australian Board of Missions by the late Protectorate Government as a
suitable field in which to commence missionary work, and that they had been
preparing to occupy them, whilst in ignorance of this, the same field, together
with the north-east coast of New Guinea from Mitre Rock to East Cape, had also
been suggested in a memorandum of the Government Secretary to the Wesleyan
Missionary Society of Australasia and accepted by them as their field of labour,
whilst the directors and missionaries of the L.M.S. still desired to retain the
north-east coast as part of their existing mission.

"In order to prevent further complications re missionary boundaries, we express
the opinion that as the missionaries of the L.M.S. have agreed to make the
boundary of their mission at Cape Dude on the north-east coast, the Anglican
Mission should occupy the coast from Cape Ducie to Mitre Rock on the north-east
coast of New Guinea, and that the Wesleyan Missionary Society should occupy the
whole of the outlying islands, with the exception of those islands lying west of
Rocky Pass on the south-east coast of New Guinea."

"I am delighted," he writes, "that this matter is so far settled. The L.M.S. are
most kind and we shall have every encouragement from their agents here. What we
need now is money--you must get that. Our people must help us. Rouse them up. It
will take at least £4000 to start with. The Wesleyans have more than this in
hand. The north-east coast is a splendid field for us in every way, better even
than the islands could have been.

"Saturday, 17th May--Went and called on Sir William in the afternoon, agreed to
do Richards’ work while he went south. Attended a native prayer-meeting at 7.30.

"Sunday, 18th May.--Native service at nine. Chalmers took it. At 4 P.M. a small
Protestant church opened. I read prayers. Mr. Lawes spoke and offered dedicatory
prayer and Mr. Chalmers preached. Captain Hennessey played. The native women and
teacher carried their white dresses and put them on outside the church. At the
end of the service the natives sang some hymns. Port Moresby looked lovely as
the sun was setting.

"Monday, 19th May.--Left the Mission house and stayed with the Governor to learn
Private Secretary’s duties.

"Thursday.--Left at 7 AM. for Hall Sound.

"The Roman Catholic Mission, from what I have seen and heard, does not appear to
be worthy of imitation. As they have been at Yule Island for nearly five years
one would have expected considerable results, instead of which, as far as I have
seen and heard, in spite of a staff of twenty Europeans, they have done little
more than make themselves known among a portion of the natives of their
district. They half starve themselves so that they soon fall victims to fever,
they work, too, at manual labour in the heat of the day and don’t take care of
their bodies. The system pursued by the L.M.S. is more practical and worthy of
imitation. They place native teachers from the South-Sea Islands who give the
first simple teaching to the Papuans in Christianity. Their belief, too, is less
complicated. They teach the great doctrine of God’s revelation to man, and, as
far as I have seen, it will take some time to get beyond this in New Guinea.
Already the inconsistency of some of the converts is apparent. They pray and
speak freely on religion, but they don’t realise that a Christian is one who has
constantly to fight against sin. However we must not expect too much. After
nearly twenty years’ work many in England would be disappointed with the visible
results of the L.M.S., and yet they have accomplished a noble work. Lawes and
Chalmers, two men entirely different, have, each in his own way, done much and
are held in high estimation by the natives. Our Mission must learn experience by
their ex ample. A little more ritual would help them. It must do so. The natives
are much impressed by outward surroundings. I hope to get South-Sea Islanders
from Mackay, and to give them six months’ training before they go on to New
Guinea; a great thing is that they speak English and will be able to act as
interpreters.

"On Friday we steamed to Maiva. In the evening a peculiar ghostlike figure
walked through the village and inspected the coco-nut trees. It was interesting
to watch the faces of the children. He is supposed to be a spirit, and it is not
supposed to be known who he is. It appears that some time before the village
feast and dance all the coco-nuts are ’tabooed’ (forbidden to be eaten). He goes
round and is supposed to know all the nuts, and if any are missing he scolds
them. He came up and stood in front of the Governor and then went on his way. He
certainly walked very gracefully. The mosquitoes are awful. During the night my
room was alive with rats and lizards. Still I slept fairly well.

"Early on Saturday, 24th May, we started for Aipiana, a village twelve miles
from Maiva. Some thirty-six natives were engaged as carriers. Our party
consisted of eighteen, all told. We had three creeks or swamps to cross. The
Governor and I were carried over, it was anything but pleasant. I found out
afterwards that one of the men who carried me over had leprosy. The amount of
skin disease here is very sad--the children are fearfully bad. I was glad to
reach Aipiana, which we did about 3 o’clock. On the road we had some coco-nut
milk and sugar cane. Great was the surprise when we reached Aipiana. We went at
once to the Strangers’ House, a large building of bamboo and palm leaves, about
sixty feet long and twenty broad. There is an upper platform eight feet from the
ground, on which we all camped. As soon as we arrived the place was swarming
with natives, talking and shouting. The chief greeted Sir William as he was well
known to him, and I was introduced. His name is Maino, and you could see at once
that he is head and shoulders above his fellows. Tall and slight, refined in
features and dignified in carriage, he impressed us all with his superiority.
Other chiefs appeared on the scene and all had presents of ’kuku’ (tobacco)
given to them. Many brought coco-nuts or taro, and received ’kuku’ in return.
After dinner, for which we were all ready, I took a stroll through the village.
It is a long straggling street of some hundred houses, divided in the middle by
a fence. Most of the children ran away when they saw us, as did the women. The
men were indifferent. Later on we returned and had a service with the native
carriers. Ava led it. They sang a hymn and he made a short speech and prayed.
About 150 natives of Aipiana came and listened attentively. It was probably the
first time the Gospel had been preached here, for it is in the Roman Catholic
district and they have not made a start yet. After prayers we had some singing,
while the natives stood round in crowds and listened. The mosquitoes were very
bad. Later on we went to bed, but not to sleep, as the natives kept up an
incessant talking until about twelve, when the Governor told them to go away.
Our beds were hammocks hung up, mine was under Sir William MacGregor’s and was
very comfortable. Both food and bed are relished here, though both are somewhat
rough. At present I don’t like the native food, but I am trying to do so. Some
of our Governors are missionaries in the truest sense--at any rate Sir William
MacGregor is.

"25th May.--On Sunday we got up at six and were getting ready to start, when the
Governor suddenly changed his mind, remembering that it was Sunday, and remained
at Aipiana. The natives had service at which we were present. About ten o’clock
the chief arrived with two pigs as a present for Sir William. In return he gave
him two large knives, a looking-glass and two lots of tobacco. Though it was
Sunday the pigs were killed, as our provisions had been left behind at Maiva. A
leg was given to a chief who had come from Maiva district to share with the
others. He departed with the leg and did not turn up again till 4 P.M., not
having given any to the other chiefs. But when he was questioned he said it was
against native custom to take any part of what they had once given, and that he
had shared it with some other Kivori men who had arrived during the day. During
the night a death had taken place, and the burial-place was just in front of the
house. Inside some twenty women sat round making lamentations; we stayed and
watched them and gave them tobacco. Soon after we left we heard them all in fits
of laughter. It appeared strange that they should change so soon, but I suppose
the women were engaged to sing death lamentations.

"During the day great quantities of coco-nuts and native vegetables were brought
in exchange for ’kuku’.

"Aipiana is a very pretty village, surrounded by a thick band of coco-nut trees.
The houses are built of bamboo and thatched. The roofs are like the ordinary
thatched roofs in England. They are made of the leaves of the coco-nut and
beautifully finished inside. Soon after sunset we had our evening service, said
in English first, and then the native Christians had theirs. The natives of
Aipiana stood round and listened. It was a weird scene--the Governor of New
Guinea sitting on a bag of rice, on the floor of the Strangers’ House with a
candle stuck in a coco-nut shell, a few Europeans and a crowd of New Guinea
people gathered round him, listening to a very simple service, heard for the
first time perhaps in Aipiana--such was our Whitsunday service, so different
from my last in England. As far as one can see New Guinea is not at all anxious
to receive the Gospel. The people are happy and free from care here because they
have plenty of food. It is not so elsewhere, where food is not so plentiful. The
country through which we travelled from Maiva is rich beyond description. Most
of it is under cultivation. What one has to fear is an influx of Europeans, who
will teach European failings without European morals. Hence the need of
practical missionaries. As far as I am able to judge, Christianity must bring
temporal benefits with it, if ever it is to be lasting in its effects in New
Guinea. Late in the evening I went through the village with Sir William and
visited the house of mourning. The mourners were sitting round the grave, having
lighted fires at each end. Some time after two officers of the Merrie England
and I sang some hymns to them in the village, and a crowd gathered round and
said ’Namo’ (’Good, good’). We turned in about nine and but for the continual
chattering I should have slept well.

"I am afraid the Papuans will not be celebrated for their kindness to animals
for some time to come. One of their decorations is a butterfly of the most
brilliant colour, fastened round the waist by a bit of coco-nut fibre and
attached to the hair. It flies round and round to a distance of eight or ten
inches till it dies. Pigs are carried on a bit of bamboo, their legs tied
across, they hang back downward and are carried for miles.

"26th May.--The Governor had intended to have started for his next stage, but as
the chief he expected had not turned up he delayed his journey till Tuesday. The
chief Baula turned up about ten and then the noise began. Baula is tall, thin
and a very ugly man. He was clothed in a flannel shirt given to him on a
previous occasion, and as soon as he arrived he began to declaim in a most
unpleasant manner. In the meantime the Strangers’ House was crowded with
natives. They were ordered off, but they soon came back. In ordering them off
again I unfortunately ordered one of the chiefs off. He became angry and would
not be appeased till I had given him some ’kuku’. Then he came and shook hands
with me and we were friends again. In the evening the sailors of our party sang
some songs with choruses, which were much appreciated by the large native
audience.

"Tuesday, 27th May--We started for Amoamo, a village about twelve miles farther
inland. Soon after we left Aipiana we passed through Vapa, of which Baula is
chief. It was amusing to see the different chiefs meet and rub noses. About
half-way in crossing one of the rivers, I unfortunately slipped and fell into
the water, the result being that I got a thorough wetting. Then we passed into a
fearful swamp of about three miles in length, with mud and water above our
knees. It was not pleasant, but we got through it and soon after reached Amoamo.
The inhabitants of this village had recently killed two other people, and as the
chief was frightened to meet the Governor, he cleared out as soon as it was
known that we were coming. The result was the Governor had to wait till Friday
before he could see him. The village is small and poor, but the people were very
friendly. In the evening we had some games with the children, and taught them
’Blind-man’s Buff’ and ’Tug the Rope’. In the latter the ’Maiva’ (our carrying
boys) tugged against ’Amoamo’ and caused much fun. Their own games are very
interesting.

"Early on Thursday, 29th, we started for Aipiana. In the evening we had some
games with the children which they thoroughly enjoyed.

"Next day we started for Ngauauni, sixteen miles distant, and passed through
Roan, Baula’s village.

"Baula was at home and came on with us. He is a wonderful old man, with a
natural dignity, though he is a savage. He and I became very good friends. Of
course I have to give him a little ’kuku’ from time to time. We arrived at
Ngauauni about five and I was fairly tired. The people were timid and did not
come near at first, but gradually they came round us, and as usual began to talk
at the top of their voices. Baula soon after arrived on the scene and began to
declaim. These people were at enmity with the surrounding villages, and both
this and Baula’s village were barricaded with bamboo, and all the spears were
kept in readiness. Here all the women and children leave the village at night on
account of the warlike attitude of the neighbouring tribes. We slept in the
Strangers’ House, a very good one. About 7.30 the Governor arrived. The view
from S. Joseph’s River, which runs just under the village of Yule, is lovely.

Early on Saturday morning six of the party started off to a bamboo clump to make
a raft, while most of the others went out shooting or collecting. About mid-day
the Governor started for the bamboo clump, where the rest of us were to overtake
him on Sunday. On Saturday afternoon I did some washing in the river, as most of
my things were dirty. Food being scarce we had but little to eat.

"1st June.--Early on Sunday morning, after I had said prayers, we started for
the raft, about eight miles on the way to Aipiana, which we reached about ten,
and found all hard at work completing the raft. After a meal of biscuits and
tea, we made a start on the raft down the river for Aipiana, which we reached
about four. After us came some twenty Papuans on rafts of their own, and as they
chanted some of their native songs it was very pleasing. I cannot but express my
regret that such work has to be done on a Sunday, as it quite undoes the good
missionaries are trying to do, though on this particular Sunday some excuse can
be made for it, on the ground of short provisions. The raft was made of six or
seven layers of bamboo, fifty or sixty feet long, and it was large enough to
take our party of twenty-four, as well as one or two chiefs. Then there was all
our baggage. On reaching Aipiana we went at once to the Strangers’ House, and
stayed there the night, In the evening some of us sang a lot of hymns to the
natives to which they said ’namo’ (’Good’).

"2nd June.--Early on Monday we started again on our raft for a village six miles
farther down the river. Before starting we parted with three Maiva boys who had
been with us the whole time and were loyal and helpful--Jora, Oa and Tom. I was
quite sorry to part with them, and I gave Oa a shirt for his personal attendance
on myself. At Ngauauni we found a cat, a great pet of Baula’s. He called her
’Putty’ and was delighted when I told him we also called her ’Pussy’. They can’t
pronounce the ’S’ very distinctly. The raft came into contact more than once
with snags and logs floating down or stuck in the river. The views of Mount
Yule, towering 10,000 feet above us, about fifteen miles away were lovely. We
reached our next stopping-place about twelve o’clock, and went at once to the
village about two miles inland. Here we experienced great difficulty in getting
carriers to bring our luggage up from the raft to the village, and it was only
by good management, ’kuku,’ and by going back with them myself that they
consented to move.

"These people are more savage and warlike than any I have seen before. On our
arrival in the village the war drum was sounded and they went at once for their
spears and stood ready to attack. As there was no Strangers’ House we had to
camp in the open air under canvas. In the evening they had a native war-dance
when the men wore their head-dress and beat their drums. It was interesting and
very clever. They first walked sideways in two long lines about six feet apart
facing each other, and then they fell in six deep and marched very slowly,
backward and forward, up and down the village. Of course they wanted ’kuku’. The
scene was striking, the clear moonlight night, the beautiful palm-trees all
round the village, and bending over it, the natives practising their war-dance,
made a sight I shall not soon forget.

"Here, as usual, the women do most of the work while the men talk, smoke and
sleep. The mosquitoes seem to trouble them a good deal. Just as I was going off
to sleep, a native peered in at me through my net, and gave me a great shock as
he had a spear in his hand, but a worse fright was in store for me. About twelve
I felt something under my hammock touching me, which awoke me and I called out.
When I heard a grunt, and found it to be a very large pig, I was greatly
relieved, though it took me some time to go to sleep again. Pigs are plentiful,
but as the young ones are fed from the breasts of the women, I was not anxious
to taste them, though the rest of our party seemed to enjoy the fresh meat and
preferred it to tinned meat.

"3rd June.--We made a very early start the next morning, Tuesday, or rather
tried to do so. Our party was divided, half going overland to the sea, via
another inland village, which the Governor wished to visit, and the other half
going down the river on the raft.

"The Governor’s party left soon after six, while we did not get away till nearly
nine, as the people refused to carry our goods. Neither ’kuku’ nor persuasion
would make them, so we had to go to the next village, three-quarters of a mile
off, to try and get some carriers, but these, though they were ready to carry
our stuff, were soon influenced by the others. At last we got one or two to
start, then others came, though one old fellow did all he could to stop the
rest. He shouted to them at the top of his voice, sitting down about twenty
yards from where our stuff was. If it had not been so important to us to get an
early start, it would have been amusing. At last I could stand it no longer, so
I shouted louder than he did and silenced him. Strength of voice is a power in
New Guinea. As soon as we had been successful in getting a goodly number to
start, I went over to him and gave him a bit of ’kuku,’ and patted him on the
back and gained his powerful aid. Then plenty of carriers came, and last of all
he came himself, and we gave him the heaviest load! Unfortunately there is no
chief in this village, or there would not have been so much difficulty in
getting carriers. When everything was on the raft, we cut the ropes and made a
start, but before we had got very far we were in the midst of snags, and
constant delays were experienced. Travelling on a raft down the S. Joseph River
was very interesting. The scenery is lovely and Mount Yule in the distance adds
to its grandeur. The current runs at the rate of about three miles an hour. On
our way down we passed a good many natives in canoes, from whom we purchased
poles for the raft, and fruit. Fortunately we had a bag of sand on the raft, so
we were able to make a fire and have tea for dinner. The sailors sang some
choruses, and to add to the interest of the journey one or two of them managed
to tumble overboard. The river swarms with alligators, some of which are very
large. As the sun was setting we saw six. Just as it was getting dark, the tide
coming into the river stopped the current, so that we were unable to proceed on
our journey down to the sea. Here we should have had to make fast for the night,
with no hope of sleep, as the mosquitoes would have prevented it. But after a
stoppage of some two hours we heard the steaming of the small launch of the
Merrie England, and soon after a rocket went off and we knew that all was well.
In less than an hour and a half we were safely on board the SS. Merrie England
after an eventful journey of nearly a fortnight. How pleasant it was to sit down
to a clean meal!

"4th June.--On Wednesday I paid a visit to Bishop Verjus on Yule Island, and
found him ill in bed with fever. I went into the little chapel and said my
prayers, and felt refreshed by the sight of a place of worship. How small all
our divisions appear in the presence of savage heathenism! No doubt some
Protestant would tell me that I could have said my prayers in the open air far
better. I am so constituted that I found it a pleasure to be alone with God in
that humble chapel, though it was not one of our own, and therefore I used it
and was glad of the chance. On my return to the bishop he gave me his photo, and
asked me to remember him in my prayers, and wished me success in my work at the
other end of New Guinea. He is a kind and good man and thoroughly earnest in his
work.

"5th June.--We remained at Redscar Bay all day. The Governor had gone to arrest
some murderers but was unsuccessful, so he arrested the chief as a hostage. The
parting between the chief and his wife was touching. She cried bitterly and
followed him a distance of seven miles to the seashore. Another chief took her
back and was kind to her. The chief was happy on board the S.S. Merrie England,
and said to me on Saturday morning "Namo, namo," pointing to his stomach,
meaning that the food was good. On Friday morning Captain Hennessey and I went
off to get some oysters, and while we were on the rocks with his boy and the
dog, we suddenly saw an alligator making straight for us. We moved off as
quickly as possible and left him in the water. The dog was the attraction, as
alligators are supposed to be fond of dogs.

"We reached Port Moresby about 10 A.M. on 7th June. Next day, Sunday, the
Governor and I went to the little church recently opened. We had the Litany,
three hymns, a lesson and a short sermon. There were fourteen Europeans present.
In the evening I went up to the Mission house and was present at the native
evening prayer.

"A young Papuan was discovered by Nauo stealing potatoes at the Government House
store-room. He was marched into my office, and I fastened him with a strap round
his ankle to the leg of the table. He looked very sad and no doubt regretted
having been caught. Later in the day he was released and went at once to his
village. Passing through it myself about an hour after I found a large crowd
round him, talking in loud voices, and scolding him for being taken in the act.
They don’t care about the crime. The sin is in being found out.

"11th June.--The Governor spent the whole day inspecting the school of the
L.M.S. at Port Moresby and was fairly well pleased with the result. He tells me
that the school was packed with some 250 children, though the average attendance
is not more than 40 or 50. The reason why so many were present was that last
year the Governor gave them a feast and they came expecting another this year.
They were not disappointed, though certain conditions were laid down, viz., that
all children under seven should say the alphabet, and all over seven should say
the ten commandments. These children don’t like school any more than Europeans,
and when the bell rings they may be seen running away into the Bush, and when
the teacher goes after them, they run into the sea, as they know that he cannot
catch them there without getting wet.

"12th June.--To-day the Governor gave a tea to the head teacher and his wife, a
student and his wife, and a daughter of the late chief of Port Moresby. The
Governor brought back with him a young orphan from Kevori who had followed us on
our journey last time. He is installed at Government House and is already
beginning to get a little flesh on his bones. Ruatoka’s wife had known him when
his father and mother were alive, and it was touching to see the meeting of the
orphan and the Christianised South-Sea Islander. Tears trickled down their
cheeks as they spoke of olden times when his parents lived. These people’s
affections are very real. The Governor and I had tea with them and at the same
time waited on them. As they left each man and woman had an orange and a stick
of tobacco. All the women as well as the men smoke here.

"20th June.--A picnic was given by the Governor to all children over seven who
could say the ten commandments, and under seven who could say the alphabet. One
hundred and fifty came; the picnic was held on the beach about a mile away. They
had three pigs, and lots of rice and water, races for knives, looking- glasses,
straps, Turkey red and tobacco. The children sat in sevens, and each had a
native pot of rice and a piece of pig, which they divided among themselves. They
said grace. They had a lot of native and other games--’Pull the Rope’ between
boys and girls, men and women, black and white--a very pretty game ’The Storm’.
Some boys stood close together, a number 50 or 100 yards off carrying branches
of green saturated with water, gradually came nearer, and when they got quite
close rushed at those closely packed and sprinkled them, singing and humming
like a storm. Then they all danced round in a thick mass. A good time was spent
in the water. It was a very pleasant feast, no quarrelling, no drink, no
swearing.

"Sunday, 22nd June.--Very poorly. Couldn’t go to church.

"Maone (the orphan boy) departed, as it had been arranged that he should go on
the Hygeia for two months. He went off in great spirits with his little parcel
of clothes, consisting of one pair of trousers, a shirt, a singlet, and a sulu,
in a little cardboard box. I gave him some tobacco and an apple. He was much
pleased, I said ’Oi namo,’ and he said ’Lasi’ (’No, missionary, you are good, I
am bad’). Poor boy, God bless him!

"We left at 6 A.M. for Kerepuna and arrived at 3.30. Very rough and very sick!
Schools examined by the Governor, they sang beautifully. It is only two years
since Mr. Pearce arrived. He has done wonders in so short a time. They said the
commandments and the Lord’s Prayer, all intoned and very well. Some of them were
painted black being in mourning. The houses, which are built on very high piles,
are very picturesque. We slept on shore. We left at 6.45 A.M., but shortly after
the ship steamed on to a bank, and we were delayed. At nine the Governor and I
came off to Hula, where he examined the school. They all sat on the floor and
sang and recited together the commandments, etc."

After other similar accounts of visits paid to different places on the coast,
the diary goes on:--

"On 30th June at 7 A.M. we left Samarai for Mita, Milne Bay, and arrived about
10.30. . . . On our way we called at Killerton Island and saw the teacher.
Samarai is an old L.M.S. station and the teacher’s house is now used as a bonded
store, under which is the prison. There is an old disused cemetery not far off
through which the Government road has been made. Over one grave is a simple
wooden cross with the name written in native language. The native prison is not
all that could be wished. I visited the prison on my return on Tuesday, and
found four prisoners inside and four working outside. Those in side were sitting
on the floor. One was chained as he was dangerous and sometimes attacked the
others. The native portion is a large room some thirty feet by twenty. On the
floor in the middle is a chain to which the prisoners are fastened at night. Two
of those inside were natives, but the other two were a Manila man and a Fijian.
The former had been sentenced to ten years for the supposed murder of a New
Guinea native. The other was serving six months for setting fire to some native
houses.

"2nd July.--Wednesday we left Samarai about twelve o’clock for Mita, Milne Bay,
and arrived about three. Soon after we went ashore to a feast. An immense
quantity of vegetables and fruit, as well as pigs, was collected, and all
through the village, small heaps of vegetables and fruit were piled up. Soon
after our arrival a sort of town-crier went round with the chief and named the
different heaps. One was for ’Missionare’. The Governor had two pigs and a
quantity of vegetables and fruit as his share. Then they began to eat. The
people came from all quarters, by sea, and over the hills from Bentley and Milne
Bays.

"On getting under way the following morning we went on to a coral reef and were
stuck till next morning, 4 July. The view of coral was exquisite, and there were
fish of every conceivable tint, striped, spotted and irregular. About 3 A.M. we
started in a steam-launch for a tour round the Bay, and called at two villages,
one on the same side as Mita about ten miles away, and Waga Waga on the opposite
side.

"We left on Saturday, 5th July, for S. Aignan’s, which we reached at 2.30 and
went ashore. Some savage-looking natives came off at about five alongside the
Merrie England in a canoe with a skull on a pole. Being ordered to take it off,
the natives made for the shore, and tried to prevent our boarding the canoe from
the SS. Merrie England. When we did so two natives jumped into the water and
swam away to shore, and threw the skull into the water. When we left there was
great threatening and talking.

"14th July.--Went ashore at Woodlarks, where we got some betel-nut sticks. The
natives were friendly; they spit over us to keep our devil off. There was a
murder here of two white men in October, 1889, and the murderers are in the
Bush. They seem to have eaten the body of one of their victims. The Roman
Catholics have tried missionary work three times and have been driven away or
eaten.

"15th July--The Governor and party went off to try and catch prisoners, and
returned about 3 P.M. with three. They had some difficulty in catching them and
they were at once put in irons. Two are very vicious-looking and older than the
other. Tobacco is forbidden, which is a great hardship to them. It appears that
white men had engaged the younger, and, having finished with him, threw him
overboard out at sea. He swam for the shore and on his way was bitten by a
shark. He then told his tale to his friends and urged them to murder the two
white men, so that there seems to have been provocation.

"16th July.--The Governor was off again. No more prisoners were caught, though
there were still two at large. I stayed on board not wishing to be mixed up with
the taking of prisoners.

"On 17th July we visited Lachlan’s. Here the people shave with a shark’s tooth.
. . Later in the evening we went off to see a native dance, a very tame affair,
and not nearly so good as in the S. Joseph’s district. Women went round and
round the ring in single file, while men and boys beat the drums. Then men put
on women’s dress and went round in like manner.

"23rd July.--We arrived at Chad’s Bay about 4.15. The Governor went ashore
alone; nineteen months before two men were hanged here and that has made the
people shy. I went later on, and saw for the first time some of my future
people. They are friendly and interesting. When the Governor told them who I
was, they all sat down, expecting that I should begin to preach. After dinner
the Southern Cross shone brightly over the site of our new Mission, a good omen.
On my landing I at once said prayers to God for His blessing on it--and to be
kept from sin.

"On Thursday the 24th I landed at Awaiama at about seven o’clock with the
Governor, Winter and party. Tents were erected and soon a number of natives came
round us. We found Commoda from Bentley Bay awaiting us. He embraced me. He is a
short man clothed in dirty canvas trousers, cotton shirt and helmet hat covered
with a mosquito net. We also met Tirrerewei, the chief of Awaiama. He is about
thirty and good-looking, tall and well made. Soon after our arrival native food
was cooked, consisting of taro, yams, bananas and sweet potatoes. It was brought
by the women in earthenware pots, and for each pot one stick of tobacco was
given, and was laid by the side of the food. About ten we started inland to
visit the villages. A number of natives went with us. We saw few houses and not
many natives. Those with us did not seem desirous of showing us the place in
which the people lived. The Governor thinks that there are a number of small
villages, but I think that the people are scattered over the whole country. We
walked till about 1.30. We were then about one and a half miles from the village
in Annie inlet. We came back by a different round, mostly along the beach. There
are a number of small villages along the coast and about 2,000 natives. Cape
Ducie is seven miles from Awaiama. Between Cape Ducie and Excellent Point there
is a deep bay, and here there are a good many villages. The natives were all
friendly though the women fled to the houses. We saw the place where the two men
mentioned before had been hanged nineteen months ago. The house close by had
been razed to the ground. The ends of the cutter of Captain Ansell (the man
murdered) are still to be seen just above the water. We got back about 6.30. It
was very dark and we had a rough walk back. The natives appear to be kindly
disposed, and some of them are quick and attentive to one’s needs. Ata carried
my waterproof and walked in it, much to the satisfaction of himself and the
admiration of his friends.

"The people have splendid gardens and plenty of food, and are inveterate smokers
and chew the betel-nut. There is much skin disease among them; not many very old
people are to be seen, and no pigs or fowls. They catch fish with spears and
nets. They use the sling in fighting as well as spears. Their head dress of
feathers is very picturesque and they paint their faces. Human hair rope is
abundant. They eat lice. They appear to have large feeding sites where they all
eat together. They wear pandanus leaf.

"25th July.--Early on Friday, S. James’s Day, we started off in the boat along
the north-east coast to visit a tribe about six miles off named Taupota. They
live along the coast, and as far as could be seen number five or six hundred.
Their houses are scattered. They are friendly, and brought us food and coco-nuts
in abundance. There are plenty of gardens. They live on friendly terms with the
Awaiama tribe, and Tirrerewei came with us. On our way we passed Galilulu, a
beautiful rise, about midway between Awaiama and Taupota. Here we intend to
build. The natives will soon learn to sing. I tried to teach them one or two
tunes, and they soon joined in. I beat a native drum to the tune. Their houses
are built on piles and they have a native ladder to get up by, which is a trunk
of a tree notched. On our return journey we called at Galilulu and had a
splendid view from the top of it. It is 150 or 200 feet above the sea, and the
highest part is formed of coral and is very rough. The second point Sir William
suggested as the best site, but another a little lower down is equally good and
is covered with rich soil of a dark colour. Only grass grows on the top now.
Between the two hillocks there is a splendid little valley where a garden could
be made.

"It is a suitable place for the headquarters of the Mission, not too close to
the natives, but within reach of two or three thousand. Just above and
overhanging are hills three or four thousand feet high, with waterfalls. It is
close to the sea, a walk uphill of about a quarter of a mile or more, and a road
could soon be made. Sir William thinks it the best site he has seen in New
Guinea for the headquarters of our Mission station. We want a good house, large
tanks, a small church, and later on natives will build houses round us and live
near, but at first it is better that they should be a little distance away. We
shall also want a good tent while the house is being built. Sand-flies are very
bad at our camp. Galilulu is free both from sand-flies and mosquitoes; it ought
to be cool and to get the wind from every quarter. We shall want a large bell to
sound at least three miles. There is a splendid place for bathing, under the
rocks, free from sharks. There are plenty of fish, pigeons, birds of Paradise,
good shooting, also kangaroos, etc. We got back about 5.30 and found twenty
bowls of food awaiting us. This seems to be the wet season, there is heavy rain
every night.

"Saturday, 26th July.--I left with Tirrerewei and eight boys to visit inland
behind Galilulu, and on our way we passed a small village on the coast. The
people offered us food which we bought. A nice boy, named Warramuia, came some
distance with us, and then went back. About three miles away we came upon some
300 people carrying tomahawks, knives, etc. Tirrerewei spoke to them and they
were friendly. The chief’s name is Namanamara; he is an old man. I gave him
tobacco, and wanted him to come back to the Governor and get a shirt, but he
wouldn’t.

"I went on to a small rise behind the village and saw Galilulu about one and a
half miles away, a little to the left looking towards the sea, so that we shall
be in the midst of three different tribes who appear to speak the same language.
The country from the rise is very pretty, and a brook twenty feet wide ran just
under us. We passed through large and well-kept gardens. An old woman was most
friendly and put her arms round my neck when she saw my white arms. They all
admire size and white skins. We returned about 1 P.M., and in the afternoon I
went in the boat in the opposite direction towards Cape Ducie, and called at two
or three villages. In Ahego there is a well-kept ground in the centre of the
village where they bury their dead. It is twenty-seven feet long by eighteen
wide, shingled, and has a low wall round it. There is one peculiar headstone
with ugly things carved on it, about three feet high and four feet long.

"We saw very few natives, but those we met were friendly and brought us food. We
returned about 4.30. The Merrie England was sighted about 5 P.M.

"We slept on shore, and early on Sunday, 27th July, started for Cape Vogel,
which we reached about twelve o’clock. Off the coast is a small island, called
on the map Ipotete. The chief’s name is Ipotete. Soon after our arrival we went
ashore and visited five of the ten villages in the bay. They are small and the
houses are poor--having no curios or pigs. The natives are fierce- looking and
were shy at first, but soon became more friendly, and a shirt was given to Noe,
the chief. He is an elderly man and pleasant. My name is ’Alaberta,’ as they
cannot pronounce Maclaren either here or in Chad’s Bay. Their houses are built
on piles about three feet or more from the ground and on the beach. The beach is
of sharp coral formation. On my landing from the boat, the native boy Pita tried
to carry me on his back to the shore, with the result that I was ’landed’ into
the water, much to the amusement of some, and to the disgust of other, natives.
The scenery is lovely. Goodenough Island towering up about 8,000 feet some ten
miles away, and the mainland ranges fifteen or twenty miles inland. There are
plenty of coco-nuts and large gardens. Some of the people are good-looking, and
their hair is worn in matted ringlets behind. There seems to be a thousand or
fifteen hundred people on the cape. The women kept in their houses. The best
site for a Mission station would be on a hill further north. It should be in the
centre of population.

"On Monday at 6.30 we left for Ipotete Island in a small boat. The island is
very small, not more than 400 yards long and less across. It has no land fit for
cultivation. The thirty houses on it are built on rocks fifteen feet above the
sandy ground. We climbed up native ladders to get to them. They appear to be
used as places of defence when the Maisini people come down the north-east coast
to attack them. Their occupants pull up the ladders and throw spears down on
their enemies.

"28th July.--About 10.30 we saw from the Merrie England a burning mountain ten
miles inland. White smoke went up from it to a great height. The scenery is very
pretty; there are low woody hills a short distance from the coast, and high
hills twenty miles or more inland.

"2 July--We went to visit in Collingwood Bay. We saw natives on canoes in a
small harbour, but they fled at our appearance. We left a bit of Turkey red and
came away, and went round the bay to a large village five miles farther on. On
our arrival the chief came and smashed a dog to death on the ground as a token
of friendship. We made friends with him. The people also had coco-nuts ready for
us to drink. We saw eighty or a hundred men but no women. They were very timid
at first, but they ad mired my arms and white skin, looking-glass and
spectacles. After staying twenty minutes and purchasing curios with Turkey red
and beads, we came away, promising by signs to return the following morning.
They pinch the nose and belly as a sign of goodwill.

"Next morning we left at 7 A.M. in a boat drawn by the steam-launch and made
visits to six villages. All received us well, especially the fifth. At the first
we got some good curios. At the second they were very friendly, as some people
from the first village ran along the beach to tell them about us. Here they play
the flute with the nose. The next village was also friendly. The fourth was our
old one of the night before, where we were warmly greeted, though they did not
care for us to go far into the village. At the fifth we were well received; its
people are very poor but kind. At the sixth all ran away, and as we were caught
in a storm we made for the first house. Three or four people bundled out of it
very quickly, one carrying a baby. We managed to give them two pieces of Turkey
red as they went, but they wouldn’t remain. When they had gone we looked into
the room built on piles, and saw six or seven dogs and a dead pig. We cleared
the dogs out and boiled some water on the fire, which was made on the floor. To
our surprise a little child was hidden under some palm leaves in the corner of
the room. As it thought that we could not see it, we did not disturb it. At last
we coaxed a few natives back and made friends. One ran two miles along the beach
to the next village to announce our coming, hence we were warmly welcomed by an
immense crowd. It is a very large village, with graves in the centre planted
with crotons. There must be at least 500 people. It is not more than ten or
fifteen miles from the people on Hardy Point. As it is built on a swamp the
houses are on high piles, and the village has a fence for protection; we went
through a hole to get into it. Here, as we left, a dog was brought to be killed,
but the Governor refused it. All along I tried to explain, by putting head to
head, and sitting down and pointing out to sea, that I was coming to live with
them, and they all seemed pleased. In one village they kissed my hand, and at
another I had my nose pulled some twenty times. This is an important bay, and
the people are big and strong though poor. They have plenty of stone axes and
clubs. The latter they refused to part with. At night we camped on the beach
near a mangrove swamp; the mosquitoes and sand-flies were very bad. The views
from this bay are lovely, Mount Suckling 11,000 feet high is a magnificent
range, but it is seldom free from clouds. Between Mount Suckling and Mount
Victory an immense tract of pure white woolly cloud floated over the land so
that it could not be seen, and gave it the appearance of being snow-clad. Mount
Victory is lofty and seems to have been disturbed recently. It is volcanic, and
smoke and steam were clearly seen rising out of it some distance from the top.
It is covered with fir-trees in parts, and in other places is bare and of a dark
brown tint. A large plain covered with grass slopes down from the bottom of the
mountain to the sea. It looks as if it had been made by water rushing down from
the mountain on to it. Mount Trafalgar is separated from Mount Victory by a
slight valley. It is about the same height as Mount Victory, but longer, and not
so abrupt in its rise. Between us and the mountain there must be a considerable
population, as we saw people issuing from several places, and we distinctly
heard the beat of the drums, whether for war, or not, we know not.

"31st July.--Our camp was fairly comfortable, but our clothes were damp. We
landed at nine on a small sand bank to await the SS. Merrie England. When a
match was struck here the sudden clearance of all the natives was very funny,
not one remained. Then we got them back and they were gradually convinced that
matches were useful, and wanted some. Others, who had never seen a white man
before, pointed to the skies and thought we must have come down therefrom.

"We got on board the SS. Merrie England at 12.15 and steamed for Hardy Point. We
reached a small bay near Nelson Point about four. The coast from Hardy Point up
to Nelson Point is a succession of lovely harbours, about the middle of which a
splendid mission station was selected. It is to be called after me. Soon after
we anchored we set off in the boat to make friends with the natives, but in
vain. We saw some canoes with natives on board, but they fled for their lives
into the bush. We hauled alongside a canoe and put some Turkey red, beads and a
bit of hoop iron on board. Then we went round into the adjoining bay, and I saw
one native running through his garden. We landed and put the same as above in
his hut. Later in the evening we saw some natives on the hill above us and
hailed them, but they refused to come. Next morning (Friday, 1st August) we
started about 7 A. M. and steamed along the coast from Cape Nelson towards Hardy
Point. Soon after we saw a canoe and steered for it, but the natives made for
the scrub and cleared. We went after the canoe and put presents in it as before.
On our way towards Hardy Point we saw several canoes, but could not get them to
stop. At last in the bay in which the Mission site is chosen we managed to get
one or two to wait for us and gave them some Turkey red. Then I jumped out of
the boat and waded in water up to my waist over coral, and was soon surrounded
by forty or fifty who admired my white hands and neck, and motioned me to show
my legs and arms which I did. They stroked them, and were pleased and shouted.
We made purchases, and just before leaving the old chief came up. I gave him a
plane iron, and in return he took off his necklace and gave it to me. He was an
old man. Most of the natives wore nothing. Their hair was arranged differently
from what I had seen before, like a bonnet overhanging in front made of
feathers. They are fine-looking and not wanting in self-confidence. I liked
them. There were a few young boys who were very shy. After we had gone we saw
some more canoes, but they wouldn’t come near. We stopped for lunch on a sandy
beach. Soon after ten or more came up and made friends. We gave them braid,
beads and two jam and meat tins; our food they would not touch for a long time.
At last one helped himself out of my plate to a little of what I was eating, and
smacked his lips and said something I couldn’t make out. They brought us ten
sugar canes and water. We left soon after for the Merrie England and arrived at
4.30. The day was fearfully hot and I was badly burnt. It is a fine place for a
Mission station. There must be 2,000 natives here, but they live on the hills a
short distance inland. With a good American whaleboat Collingwood Bay could
easily be worked from here and could be joined to the mission at Cape Vogel. It
is necessary to take up prominent points at once. I must go to England and get
men to work here.

"Note.--I had heard so much of the wild savage state of the people here that I
was surprised to find quite the reverse to be the case. Possibly the Merrie
England impressed them. Still we went off in a small boat and I was unarmed. A
steam yacht is a necessity, as there is often no wind and dead calms.

"Saturday, 2nd August.--Left Hennessey Harbour at 7.30. Passing along the coast
near Nelson Point and Spear Island we saw immense clumps of coco-nuts. There
must be a large native population. There are splendid grassy slopes stretching
five or six miles in land. The view of Mount Trafalgar and Mount Victory is
magnificent; the latter is covered with steam which oozes out from it.

"We steamed along the coast of Dyke Acland Bay, but saw no village till we came
to Lena Bay. Here we arrived about 4.15 and rowed to the village in the bay.
Some months ago a Señor Loria, an Italian traveller, came and entered the
village, his small ship being anchored in the bay. The natives cleared out, and
he proceeded to take all the curios, fishing-nets, clubs and spears from their
houses, and left in exchange beads and Turkey red. He also attempted to dig up a
corpse, but did not succeed. When Sir William heard of it he claimed the curios,
and to-day we landed them and took them to a house, tied Turkey red and a plane
iron to the posts and came away. Not a soul was visible. All had cleared into
the scrub; we saw them running away as we approached in the boat, supposing, we
presume, that our advent was of the same character as that of Loria. How pleased
they will be to get their old goods again! As we rowed away we saw them
returning, and in the adjoining village we heard shouting later in the evening.
I kept calling out ’Habino, Habino, Oi,’ but got no response. Another boy called
out ’Wailu’ from the other boat. Charles landed at the other village and
purchased some curios. The houses are very poor. There is a splendid plantation
of coco-nuts and palms, and immense groves of the latter along the beach. The
bay is perfect and the scenery lovely. We can see Mount Suckling, Mount Victory
and Mount Trafalgar as well as the Hydrographers’ Range. There are some lovely
crotons in the village and a well-trained hibiscus tree. The graves are well
cared for. It is about fifty miles from Mitre Rock, and Cape Nelson is easily
seen from it. There must be a population of three or four thousand people here.

Sunday, 3rd August.--Left SS. Merrie England for the village on the coast at 6
AM. I found it difficult to get near. At last some one came when I held out a
piece of Turkey red. A poor woman came up crying bitterly and beckoning me away
to the ship, and pointing to the village from which the curios were taken. That
affair has done endless harm. The Governor was surrounded in a village farther
on with people who had spears and clubs ready to attack him. I had to break the
Sabbath, and purchase, in order to make friends with them, as they could not
understand giving for nothing in return. Two little boys came up and were more
friendly than the men. They were pleased when they saw us depart. The language
is not easy to make out. I told them that my name was ’Alaberta’ and made signs
that I was coming to live among them, which they received more kindly than I
anticipated. They are very poor, and most of their coco-nut trees are tabooed.
Their heads are in some cases painted white, and their houses are poor and built
on piles. There is a large population here and a good site for a mission
station. A sort of ’satisfaction station ought to be established at once. One
man brought me a coco-nut to drink. To the poor woman I gave some beads and
Turkey red; she was pacified and came close and examined my arms. She wore a
native cloth round her loins. We left again at 7.40 for Mitre Rock. Along the
whole coast till within eight miles of the rock there are large clumps of
coco-nut trees, and there were seen a considerable number of villages and an
immense population both on the coast and inland.

"4th August.--Left for Mitre Rock in a boat at six. The rock is in form of a
mitre some quarter or half-mile off. About half-way up it is covered with scrub
trees and creepers; the lower part is rocky. The rocks round are covered with
splendid oysters and there is a hole big enough to get through. It is thirty
feet through and forty feet high, and a quarter to half a mile from the
mainland. After an interval of three-quarters of an hour spent by the Governor
in taking angles and by us in getting oysters, shells and some splendid fish of
all shades and shapes, we went to the mainland opposite, to Craig’s Pillar. It
is fifteen or twenty feet high and only separated from the main land by ten or
fifteen feet. The coast from Mitre Rock for sixteen miles lower down is thickly
wooded, and there are perfect little bays along the coast. The one nearest and
quite close to Mitre Rock is called after Mr. Douglas, the second engineer.

"After steaming an hour or more we saw a clump of coco-nuts on the beach and
landed, but there was no sign of house or native. Soon after we saw natives
farther down waving to us and we landed. We found fifty to seventy waiting for
us. They are a very wild set and not at all to be trusted. One of them persisted
in following me to get a bit of Turkey red though he had nothing to sell. At
last he got quite irritated and got hold of my chin and gave me a fearful tug. I
put my coats on the ground and my spectacles on top, but soon after the
spectacles disappeared and the coats were only just saved. They are fearful
thieves. The things we bought were taken and resold to us. They all had spears
in the background.

"We soon left and went on our way, and three or four miles farther down and not
far from Caution Point were hailed by other natives. These, strange to say, wore
false whiskers made of dyed grass, knotted on to twine. They also had jackets
made of Job’s Tears, a small grey seed which grows on a low shrub. The people
were pleasant and I told them my name, and explained to them that I was coming
later on to live with them. I pointed to the sea and waved my hand to show that
I was leaving them and coming back, then put hand on head, then ate, then sat
down, They seemed surprised, and, I thought, pleased. They helped us to get
fresh water. The women and children were quite friendly. I showed them my arms
and legs. I had to jump out of the boat and get to shore as it was too rough to
land the boat, and we got three or four big waves into the boat, drenching us
all and spoiling com pass, glasses, etc., besides soaking all our camp gear.

"These people had scarcely anything on, though all along the coast they wear a
peculiar headgear made of hair, grass or leaves of twenty or thirty layers,
completely covering the hair and making them look fierce and weird. Many of them
are naked, though all the women wear native cloth round their waist. They are
poor and had little to sell. Their houses are poor and rickety. Their dead are
cared for and buried in the village, and fenced in with a sort of bamboo
lattice-work and crotons round it. I went up to one grave about seven feet
square and made signs as to what it was, and they signed back what I wanted to
know. Some of the people have had ulcerous sores, one of which I was asked to
look at. It was on the foot of a youth of sixteen. His foot was fastened to the
front of the leg, pressed inward and covered with an immense cancerous-looking
wound. I stroked his leg and gave him a bit of Turkey red. As a result, six more
who had sores were brought to me. They, too, wanted Turkey red, but I hadn’t
enough to give to all, so I gave a bit to a little child and left them. I sup
pose we are the first white men they have ever seen or talked to. No women
appeared, they were too timid and astonished. They paint themselves with light
mud here and plaster their heads over with it. A looking glass pleased them
immensely--iron they did not care for, but the Governor left them some and
explained the use of it to them. As soon as we got to the water we left them and
they waved to us from the beach. Here the sea was very rough. A station must be
established here later on.

"Our next place of call was sixteen or eighteen miles from Robinson Bay, or
twenty-four from Mitre Rock, on a long sandy beach three or four miles long
lined with fir-trees. We had difficulty in landing, owing to the surf, and had
to back the boat in. The sea was rough and choppy. We landed at 6.15, just as it
was getting dark, and had to find a suitable camp by the aid of a lamp. I
gathered sticks for the fire, and the Governor held the lamp for the men while
they chopped down and cleared away trees for the camp. The boat was dragged a
short distance up the beach and left there. One native passed us and ran for his
life, though we thought there could not possibly be any one near, as there were
no signs of life as far as we could judge. As soon as we had something to eat we
turned in. One man was told off to watch and the firearms were kept ready. About
i 1.30 the cry was raised that the natives were coming towards us, and in a
moment we were all on the alert. It appears that Tom got up to see that the boat
was all right, and on his way from the camp to the beach he saw five natives,
two sitting and three standing, looking towards our camp; it was bright
moonlight. He came back to get his rifle and told Belford, and he foolishly
raised the cry. I called out ’Welu Welu,’ but they cleared. It startled us not a
little. What I thought of was that the Ono people might be friendly with these
people, who lived forty miles apart, and having told them what the white man had
done in taking away their things, they might make a night attack on us, but
fortunately they did not mistrust us. About 1.30 A.M. everybody cleared out of
the camp on to the beach, except the Governor and myself; and as I heard talking
I concluded that the natives had gathered there near the boat. I called the
Governor, but he was asleep, so I kept watch for half an hour, expecting some
one to turn up from the beach, but as no one came I thought it imprudent to
leave the camp without some one in charge. I woke the Governor and told him that
I was going to the beach as the others had left us alone, and he only had a
revolver and I nothing. I soon got to the beach, and found the boat forty or
fifty yards from the beach filled with water, while all hands were trying to
bale her out. The seats and bottoms were brought back to the shore, having
floated out of the boat I went back and told the Governor, and he kept watch
while I returned to the beach to give any little help I could. About 2.45 AM. we
turned in again, having anchored the boat a short distance out. It appears that
the boat had not been dragged high enough up, and the big rolling surf waves had
taken her out to sea and nearly swamped her. It was a miracle that she was
saved. Nothing further disturbed our night’s rest but very heavy rain, and as
only the Governor’s fly had been erected, our tent was crowded by seven or nine
people.

"Early next morning, 5th August, we got up, and on going to the beach we saw
three or four hundred natives coming towards us. They came up in a friendly way
and began to barter with us. They had nothing special to sell. Some women and
children shortly after appeared, which was a good sign. I caught one in the act
of stealing a necklace we had bought and ordered him off, and pointed out to the
others what he had done, and they scolded him. Some of them brought us native
food cooked. I told them my name and made them repeat it, ’Alaberta,’ and
explained that I was coming back. As we sat at breakfast a chief came up and
gave the Governor a present of a stone axe and a number of dogs’ tails
ornamented with red feathers. These people are very fine-looking. We made them
sit down a little way off while we had our breakfast, and gave one or two a
little bread and meat and some tea in a cup. They pretended to drink it, but
didn’t touch it. I saw one man do it and mimicked him, much to the amusement of
the others. One of our men lit his pipe with a match, and the match and the
smoke coming out of his mouth terrified them, so that they nearly all ran away,
though they soon returned and he explained it to them. Then they wanted matches
and we gave them a tin-boxful. Their villages are not far away, just beyond the
fir-trees, and there must be at least 1,000 people or more living there.

"On 5th August we reached Oro Bay. I went ashore with two others, Mr. Winter and
Charles, to the villages we had visited on Sunday morning. Here we found a few
men on the beach, but most of them were 150 yards away in the bush fully armed.
We gradually got a crowd round us and began to barter with them, beads being the
favourite article. Already some had been made up into earrings since Sunday and
were worn by the natives. As I wanted to see as much of my future people as
possible, I made my way towards some who were armed a short distance away. I
beckoned to them to lay down their spears, clubs and shields, and I showed that
I was quite unarmed. They gradually did so and I got closer to them, and as soon
as I could get hold of one man’s hand and pat his back it was all right. I then
made signs as well as I could that the Governor’s ship was their friend, that it
had brought back the spears, clubs and shields of the neighbouring villages, and
that they could with perfect safety leave their arms about and they would on no
account be touched. All this I did, by taking up the small stone axes, etc., I
had bought and scattering them about and taking them up quickly and leaving a
bit of Turkey red in place, pointing to Lena village and then making to wards
our ship. Then I came back and put them down, and fought with my hands an
invisible foe and made them see what I desired. At once one of them saw it and
the change was wonderful. They became most friendly, and when, shortly after, we
left, 200 came on to the beach, and the people of the village farther down were
so pressing that we should visit them, that, late as it was, we had to give way,
lest we should make them jealous. Such men as Loria should be compelled to leave
New Guinea. In this village we saw the grave yards. I tried to explain by
pointing to Heaven where the dead had gone. The natives know my name and they
know, too, that I am coming back. When is this to be? The sooner the better. The
Governor has throughout been most helpful and interested in the welfare of our
mission. There must be at least 1,200 people in this district and it is a good
place for a station.

"They paint with whitish-grey mud, and the heads of some of them are one-eighth
of an inch thick with it.

"On 7th August we arrived at Cape Vogel. We went to the village where Paisa is
chief, and we rubbed noses and I was embraced. His wife and children were
brought to me. The Governor remained on board. Very soon a large number of
people congregated, and I made presents of beads, Turkey red, etc. I made them
understand that I was coming back and they all seemed pleased. Last time we
landed we had not a very hearty welcome. To-day all is different. They wanted to
see my arms, legs and breast, which I showed them. They then brought us
coco-nuts and followed us back to the boat, and the chief, two men and a dear
little boy came off with us to the SS. Merrie England and had some ’kai kai’
(food) on board. I gave the little boy one of my white singlets and the men some
thing else. The chief is a dear, kind-looking old man. As he was leaving the
ship he made signs that he was coming off in the morning with coco-nuts, and as
we were steaming away we saw his canoe but hadn’t time to wait, as we had to get
to Samarai, a distance of 100 miles or more.

"11th August--Arrived at Port Moresby at 10.20. All well. Away just seven
weeks."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 11: 09.  PREPARATION FOR THE MISSION IN AUSTRALIA
========================================================================

Chapter 9 Preparation for the Mission in Australia THE diary of Maclaren’s
journeyings with Sir William MacGregor stops with the return to Port Moresby on
11th August. They had afforded him facilities for learning much of the country
in a short time. He had now to find men to carry out the work which he had
undertaken to inaugurate. The time was unfortunate, for the country was
suffering from severe financial depression. September found him pleading his
cause in the Diocese of Brisbane. He received about £150. On 9 October, 1890,
the day of the enthronement of Bishop Barry’s successor, Dr. Saumarez Smith, as
Bishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia, a public meeting was held in Sydney
in support of the Mission, when the newly enthroned Primate took the chair, the
Bishops of Melbourne, Brisbane and Riverina spoke, and Maclaren related some of
his experiences and pleaded his cause. The collection amounted to £103, and the
meeting was described as "most sympathetic and full of encouragement to the
zealous missionary".

November found him back at his old parish of S. Paul’s, West Maitland, taking
the services all day on Sunday, 2nd November, and holding a meeting for his
Mission on the 4th. He writes on the 3rd: "We kept All Saints’ yesterday. The
church was lovely and they gave me £17 for my Mission. I have got a cheque for
£250 for the Quetta Church. As the result of my appeals to Australians I have
received a cheque for £1,000 and another for £500, and I am expecting a similar
amount, viz. £500, in a few days. The people are taking up the Mission very
warmly and are doing all they can to help us." On 21st November he writes from
Armidale to a lady (Mrs. Baber) who had been ill: "I am glad to hear that your
painful illness is coming to an end. I am a very poor hand at bearing pain and I
pray God that I may never have to endure overmuch, though I know that when it
comes He also gives one strength to endure it. I like being ill now and then,
because sickness helps to deepen my faith, and gives the peace which success and
health never seem to bring one. I suppose it is that sickness throws me back
more on Him who is the source of all peace and hope. I am feeling better since I
came here he had been ill with fever). The New Guinea Mission is being better
cared for than I had anticipated, but it is a pity that party spirit is allowed
to run so high among one section of the community. Alas, they little know the
harm that they are doing and how terribly they are rending the seam less robe of
our Lord. I try to be free from party spirit, and in my better moments I am, but
then these men with their bitter narrow spirit and words rouse all my latent
energy on the other side, but it must not be. When He giveth quietness who then
can make trouble? God bless and keep you." In the following letter is the first
reference to the Rev. Copland King, for whom he asks special prayers on the Day
of Intercession.

"Ask Mr. Baber to remember on the Day of Inter cession to pray that one, a young
clergyman, may be led to offer himself for the New Guinea Mission. He is a good
earnest fellow, and though his views are some what different to my own, yet we
both love our Lord and His poor scattered sheep for whom He died. His name is
Copland King. I travelled with him a few days ago and he is interested in
missionary work, especially in New Guinea. He is a son of Archdeacon King of
Sydney." The story of that eventful meeting in a train is best told by the Rev.
Copland King himself.

"The first time I met Mr. Maclaren was in November, 1890, in a railway train on
the northern line. I was going up to Tamworth for a fortnight’s holiday. At
Singleton the train was shortened, and all the first-class passengers put into
one carriage. The rest of the party seemed all to know each other, and a brisk
conversation was carried on on the political situation and some speeches
recently made in Sydney. When it died away, and papers and books made their
appearance, I introduced myself to Mr. Maclaren, and told him that I was
interested in the Mission. My Sunday-school collected for it, and I had heard
him speak at the great missionary meeting in Sydney, and should like to know
more about the work which he was starting. He explained the position of affairs
to me and we had a long conversation. He told me about some people whom he was
hoping to enlist, and then he asked me if I would come with him. I had no idea
of such a thing previously, but I could not refuse straight off and we went as
fully as possible into the subject. We got out at Quirindi, and walked up and
down the dusty streets of that town till late at night. We went on by an early
train the next morning, without further opportunity for conversation. Indeed I
think we both felt that we had thrashed the subject out, and during the week
following I made my offer and the matter was arranged." From Armidale, Maclaren
went to Tenterfield, preaching on the Sunday evening, 22nd November, for New
Guinea. Three days later he was again in Brisbane.

He writes from there on 1 December: "Collecting money and men and raising
missionary interest is weary work, and I shall be glad to get back to New
Guinea. We have got altogether some £5,000 or £6,000 with which to start the
Mission, and I have secured a splendid young fellow--a clergyman--M. A. of
Sydney University, a born Australian, and a son of Archdeacon King of Sydney. I
think that two others will offer shortly, so that we have made a start. I am
going to spend Christmas with the prisoners, and Sunday, the 21st, with the old
people (500) at the Benevolent Home. It will be a queer Christmas, but peace
comes from God in prison as well as in church if we prepare for its due
reception. We hope to get a steam yacht soon for £3,000, and our house is also
to be built. The ladies of five parishes in Australia are furnishing a room
each.

Forty Sunday-schools are giving £10 a year to keep a child, so that we expect to
get over £3,000 a year without asking England for much. All the same it is
uphill work, and one needs much patience and much rejection of self." On 28th
December, Holy Innocents’ Day, he preached at Christ Church, Milton, on S. James
1V. 14. It Was on this day twelve months later that he was laid to rest in the
Cooktown Cemetery. On New Year’s Day, 1891, he celebrated the Holy Communion at
Christ Church, Milton, on the site of the old church in which he had been
ordained. It was an appropriate beginning to the year which was to witness the
foundation of the Church of England Mission in New Guinea, and in its closing
days the passing of the founder into the Unveiled Presence of his Lord.

Early in January he went to Melbourne, and as chaplain to the Bishop of
Brisbane, Dr. Webber, was present on S. Paul’s Day at the consecration of S.
Paul’s Cathedral. "It is a nice building," he says, "but not equal to the
cathedrals of England. It should mean new life to Melbourne and it wants it.
There were nine bishops present at the dedication." His main object in Victoria
was to raise £1,500 for a Mission house and station. "And I shall get it," he
writes, "for I am an energetic beggar. It must be done, and I think it is a
great thing to get the Mission supported entirely by Australians." The following
letter sets forth why Australia should support the proposed New Guinea
Mission:--

"I came to Melbourne a few weeks ago in order to try to obtain some practical
help from the Church people of Victoria. Already Queensland and New South Wales
have given generously to our new work, and among other donations to our funds I
have received £1,000 from Miss Edith Walker of Concord, Sydney, £500 anonymous
and £200 from Messrs. White Bros. of Armidale, New England, as well as many
other smaller sums. These large sums were given to the yacht fund, as it is
understood that New South Wales gives us the mission ship, towards the purchase
of which some £2,000 has been already subscribed by the Church people of that
colony. My special appeal to the people of Victoria is for £1,500 for Mission
premises for our first head station, towards which, after some four weeks’
incessant begging, preaching and speaking, I have received less than £50. I am
therefore writing to ask you to be good enough to try to enlist the sympathy of
your friends in my need.

"The question might be asked why Australia should be solicited for means to
carry on the New Guinea Mission, and in order that there may be no
misunderstanding about our strong claims on the generosity of the people of
Victoria, I append a few reasons why I feel I can justly make my appeal.

"1. British New Guinea having been annexed at the request of the colonies of
Australia, and as it was not considered advisable to have any other European
Power on land closely adjacent to one of the keys of Australian defence, viz.,
Thursday Island, which is less than sixty miles from the mainland of New Guinea,
it is fitting that the Australian people should do ’the duty that lies nearest’
to their hand in missionary enterprise. Large sums are being raised in Australia
for missions to India, China and Africa, while our heathen savage
fellow-subjects are neglected by those who call themselves Christians.

"2. The Mission will necessarily be a powerful agency in conveying the benefits
of civilisation to our fellow-subjects, the Papuans, in New Guinea. In a letter
I received from the Hon. A. Musgrave, Government Secretary of British New
Guinea, in welcoming the Anglican Mission to the Papuans, he says: ’After more
than five years’ intimate official connection with B.N. Guinea, I can appreciate
the immediate and powerful effect produced by the settlement of earnest and
honest whites among our natives and the restraint it places on their worst
propensities. I can therefore view the introduction of another active and
civilising influence amongst our aboriginal wards with cordial admiration and
sympathy. Your efforts will commence amidst tribes in the purest state of
savagery, where for many months to come your life and health will be in
exceptional danger, while your tastes will be set on edge and your disgust
excited by their unrestrained manners and unspeakable customs.’

"It is our intention to work the Mission on thoroughly practical lines, and we
hope to number among our missionary staff more than one artisan who will help to
develop the latent powers of the natives.

"I feel that if only our Mission were known to some of the wealthy and generous
folk of Melbourne, and its objects understood, the necessary funds for the
building of our house, etc., viz., £1,500 would soon be forth coming. We are
making our Mission a work of the Australian Church. It is to depend entirely on
this country both for men and money, because we feel that the time has come when
the Church of England in Australia should have one Mission specially her own.

"We have taken New Guinea, and seeing that to a great extent it is open to the
trader and others to go where they like among the natives, and bearing in mind
how frequently unprincipled men have in the past done harm to similar tribes, I
think that it rests with us to do all we can to civilise and Christianise and to
put before them the best features of our civilisation. It is a grand opportunity
for Australia to show to the world how she means to govern and to educate the
native races that have been committed to her care. I need scarcely add that Sir
William MacGregor, M.D., K.C.M.G., the present Administrator of British New
Guinea, warmly welcomes our Mission, and has already done us invaluable service
in helping to choose five sites for our stations on the north-east coast of
Papua." For the greater part of March, Maclaren was, as he expressed it,
"pegging away" in Victoria. "I am getting on surely but very slowly; I don’t
think that I have got £200, but I am pegging away and my work will last. I have
promise of six schools at £10 a year, as well as parishes like Brighton and
Malvern -which are going to support New Guinea as their special work." A few
days later the £200 had become £500 a year. He writes again: "I am feeling very
tired and almost done up, but my efforts will tell, and I think we shall get at
least £500 a year from this part of the world, from schools, colleges and
churches. I have hopes of getting a good round sum towards the Mission house. I
got over £50 in Ballarat." The parishes promising support included, as he wrote
to the Primate, "all shades of opinion". He rushed up to Sydney for a meeting of
the Council of the Board of Missions in the middle of March, returning to
Melbourne, to preach on Palm Sunday in the cathedral and to take other services
in Holy Week. In April he writes from Melbourne to recommend Mr. C. E. Kennedy,
and Mr. (now the Rev.) Samuel Tomlinson and Mrs. Tomlinson, to the Primate as
suitable additions to the Mission staff, and adds: "You will be glad to learn
that I have received the offer of £120 a year from a Churchman of Victoria in
order that I may take with me some one from Victoria to New Guinea, and I shall
be glad if your Lordship will kindly accept the offer of service of either Mr.
Kennedy or the married couple in order that I may make the person or persons
known to the donor of this gift. I shall be glad when final arrangements are
made for our departure, though I feel it is better that everything should be
satisfactorily settled prior to our leaving rather than that the Mission should
suffer from hasty or ill-advised action. All parties--High, Low and Broad--have
extended to the Mission the right hand of fellowship, and have been most kind in
giving me every assistance in their power."

He had hoped to start for New Guinea in April, but there were constant delays,
difficulties over the plans for the house and over shipping arrangements which
worried him greatly. In all the preliminary arrangements regarding the
necessaries for the new station, house furniture, etc., he owed much to the
advice and experience of Dr. and Mrs. Lawes and Mr. Chalmers. A letter written
on Ascension Day, 1891, to Mr. Chalmers about house plans, and the pros and cons
of sail or steam for the proposed Mission vessel, concludes:

"I am sorry not to see you again, but let us hope that we shall not be long ere
we speak face to face once more. My kind regards to Mrs. Chalmers and my love to
yourself. You shall have my prayers in your perilous journeys, and I shall ever
think kindly of you for all your kindness to me. God bless you, Tamate, and keep
you under His Almighty protection in your going out and coming in." The
following extracts are from a letter to Mr. King:-- "DIOCESAN REGISTRY,
"MELBOURNE, Ascension Day, 1891. "I have been constantly on the move in the
interests of the Mission, at Sandhurst, Ballarat and other places. Re the gun,
by all means take one suitable for alligators. You’ll need some sport and I
think you will get it. How glad I shall be to get settled. I am so tired, yet
for the future of the Mission we must have a strong system of organisation (look
at Melanesia), and in Victoria we have succeeded in founding one which will in
time spread through all the colonies. I am just off to Tasmania to see the
bishop and urge our claims there. I have to thank you for much already, and I
feel certain that we shall be one in all essentials relating to the temporal as
well as the spiritual welfare of our great work. May our Lord grant it."

He paid a brief visit to Tasmania in May, preaching sermons and holding meetings
in Hobart and Launceston. He asked specially for £70 for a whale-boat, and
received £74 during a "visit which was felt to be all too short by those who
were fortunate enough to have been brought into contact with him". On 2nd June,
1891, he writes to the Bishop of Brisbane, Dr. Webber, from Sydney: "I am now to
leave Sydney for New Guinea in about a fortnight’s time. During my visit to
Melbourne I obtained £1,300 and many annual promises, chiefly small ones, though
I got one of £120 a year for three years, and since my advent to Sydney a few
days ago I have received £115 a year for three years. The house of which you saw
the plans is being built and will be ready shortly. We are chartering a boat for
three months. King and a young layman are going with me, a married carpenter
with his wife are to follow." At the end of June he left Melbourne for the last
time, and spent a fortnight in Sydney. He conducted a short mission at Christ
Church, S. Lawrence, in which he was particularly happy and impressive. "I have
been so long engaged," he said to Mrs. Lawes, "in getting money and making
business arrangements that I feel I want a little spiritual work before I go to
my work in New Guinea." On Sunday, 28th June, being the Fifth Sunday after
Trinity, he preached in the morning at Holy Trinity, Sydney, and in the evening
at Christ Church, Lavender Bay. His sermon in the morning was on S. Matthew
28:19-20, and he closed with the words of Knox Little’s he so often quoted:-- My
Lord, shall not I love Thee Who gave Thy Life for me? The world may tower above
Thee, But Thou art all to me. As in Thy bitter Passion I read my hopes above,
I’ll pay Thee in like fashion, And give Thee Love for Love. The following
Wednesday evening there was a special farewell service at S. Andrew’s Cathedral,
Sydney, when the Primate preached the sermon, and gave his blessing to the two
departing missionaries as they knelt at the altar rails. Early on the morning of
2nd July there was a celebration of the Holy Communion at Holy Trinity, Sydney,
and in the evening the Revs. A. A. Maclaren and C. King left Sydney by train for
Brisbane, arriving there on Saturday, 4th July. Early in the morning of 7th July
there was a farewell celebration of the Holy Communion in the private chapel at
Bishopsbourne, and in the afternoon Maclaren and Copland King sailed for
Cooktown en route for New Guinea. The collier schooner Grace Lynn, which was
bringing by sea from Sydney the materials for their house and the carpenters to
erect it, was to pick up the two missionaries at Cooktown and convey them across
to Samarai, but the Grace Lynn was delayed, and finding that he had some days to
spare, Maclaren went on to Thursday Island in the hope of persuading the Rev. W.
Maitland Woods to accompany him to New Guinea. He found him, however, doing such
good work in the island that he thought it only right to leave him where he was.
The following letter to Canon Scarth describes his visit:--

"I came here for a two days’ visit en route to New Guinea, and I am much
gratified to find how much good Mr. Woods has done since he came here, and I am
more than pleased to know that the work is connected with S. Andrew’s Waterside
Church Mission. A useful room has just been finished and is used for services
and meetings, and when the Memorial Church is ready the room will be used as the
parsonage. Many things are needed, and I think a lending library would be most
useful. The pearl-fishers are men earning good wages and could pay for books,
but I doubt very much whether they are able to find books to purchase here. Mr.
Woods is just the man for the post he occupies. I should have liked him to have
been with me in New Guinea, but that is out of the question, as he is sorely
needed where he is, and I trust that he will long remain here and build up the
Church. I am just off to New Guinea, and I hope to make a good start. My visit
to Australia has done good, and I have helped to rouse enthusiasm for missions
generally.

"Have you heard anything more of a boat for us? Woods sadly needs a good
whale-boat. It would cost at least £40 here, and if you could help him in this
it would do much towards extending his work. He can not get about without one.
We have chartered a vessel of 100 tons for four months and I am going over in
her. Keep in touch with Thursday Island. It is such an important place." To the
Primate at the end of a letter on financial matters he writes: "I am afraid we
shall have a bad time in going across to Samarai, as our ship the Grace Lynn is
a very poor sailer. If we get a fair wind it will be all right. The weather has
been terrible and more than one ship is overdue. I am sorry to say that we have
a very drunken mate on board. Our carpenters are decent fellows, though they
have been grumbling at the amount of work they have had to do on their way
north. I am afraid that the ship is undermanned. Mr. King is in very good
spirits, and he has made friends with many of the Cooktown people."

He writes to his mother: "Just a few lines to say I am starting for New Guinea
in a few minutes. I am so glad to be making a start in the work. The next two or
three years will soon pass and I shall be back to see you again in dear old
England. After all it is the best country." His fears about the crossing were
realised, for it was not till 6th August that they reached Samarai. "At last we
got on board," writes Copland King, "hauled away from the wharf and made fast to
a buoy, ready to catch the first breeze in the morning. The cabin did not suit
our ideas of comfort or airiness, but we had just dropped off to sleep when we
heard the noise of a passing boat, and a voice called out, ’Is Mr. Maclaren on
board?’ Maclaren was up on deck in a moment and answered, ’Is that you, Tamate?’
It was Mr. Chalmers of the L. M. S., whose Mission steamer the Harrier had been
wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. He and his party had been rescued by the
Government boat. We got our captain up, lowered a boat, and followed the
Government steamer into port, and as soon as the doctor had passed the
passengers we brought Mr. Chalmers on board the Grace Lynn to spend the night,
and had a good talk about the situation in New Guinea before we dropped off to
sleep. We had a weary trip across to Samarai. Mr. Maclaren got over the
sea-sickness before I did. My most vivid recollection of the trip is his
continual singing of the hymn ’There is a blessed Home.’"


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 12: 10.  IN NEW GUINEA.  THE LAST FIVE MONTHS
========================================================================

Chapter 10 In New Guinea. The Last Five Months.

MACLAREN announced their safe arrival to the Primate in the following letter:--

"The Grace Lynn reached this port at 11.15 to-day (6th August) after a long
passage from Cooktown, and I do not think she would have arrived here for the
next two or three days had not the SS. Merrie England come to our assistance and
towed her in. We left Cooktown two days prior to the Hygeia, the Governor’s
sailing-ship, but the Hygeia reached this place thirty-six hours before us. I
mention this in order that the Board of Missions may know what a very unsuitable
boat the Grace Lynn is for the work and the waters for which she was chartered,
her draught is only seven feet, and though splendidly suited for Southern seas
she is unable to beat against tides and winds such as are prevalent in these
parts. We do not expect to arrive at Chad’s Bay for the next three or four days,
but in order to facilitate matters it is probable that Mr. King and I will sail
our own Tasmanian boat across. The Governor has been most helpful to us."

He also writes to the Bishop of Brisbane: "The shipping arrangements should have
been done through marine officers. The clergy may be fishers of men, but they
are not often good judges of ships suitable for tropical waters where currents
and winds have to be carefully considered!... We have had a terrible passage
over. The sea was very rough, and the L.M.S. Harrier was wrecked in the storm.
Chalmers stayed a night on board with us after the wreck. Our cabin
accommodation is wretched. Every time it rained I had to lie in a pool of water.
We leave Samarai in our large whale boat for Chad’s Bay, seventy miles away, and
expect to be there to-morrow evening. We start at 6 AM. The chief is going with
us. There is no danger unless it be on the sea and we get capsized. We shall
camp on board the boat at night, and we expect the Grace Lynn on Tuesday the
11th. The natives will be friendly, but they are never to be trusted. Sir
William MacGregor was here, but he left to-day. He has been most kind. He comes
South in October. I hope you will see him. I wish that the General Synod would
pass a vote of thanks to him, he is so helpful. He has promised to come up in
December and take us up the coast to Mitre Rock, and I want him to spend
Christmas with us." The account of the trip to Chad’s Bay is given in another
letter:--

"Owing to another unavoidable delay at Samarai on the part of the Grace Lynn,
Mr. King and I determined to start for Chad’s Bay and Battle Bay in the splendid
whale-boat Tasmania, the money to purchase which I obtained from the people of
Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania. We made an early start on Saturday morning, 8th
August, and reached Galilulu at 5 P.M. after a splendid trip, the distance from
Samarai to Chad’s Bay being a little under seventy miles. Our party consisted of
the Rev. Copland King, the mate of the Grace Lynn, Sam our boy, Abrahama, the
chief of Taupota, seven Taupota natives and myself, making twelve in all.
Abrahama proved most useful, as he is able to speak a little English. On our
arrival at Galilulu, Mr. King and I went to the top of the hill where it was
intended to have erected the Mission house, and for which some thirty-five acres
of land had been recently purchased from the natives by Mr. Rely, the Resident
Magistrate at Samarai. On our return to the beach we found a number of natives
who gave us some bananas, in return for which we gave them tobacco. They also
made a fire and boiled our billy for us. Later on Abrahama and his men took
their departure for Taupota, a large village about two and a half miles farther
along the coast. Before leaving he promised to return early the following
morning, but we waited till 10 A.M., and as neither he nor any of his men put in
an appearance we rigged our boat and put out to sea for Bartle Bay, some
twenty-five miles along the north-east coast.

"The coast between Chad’s Bay and Bartle Bay is striking and beautiful. Steep
hills from 2,000 to 3,000 feet high come down to within a short distance of the
beach, while in some places they reach right to the water’s edge. The land is
not heavily timbered, but what timber there is, is very picturesque, and a good
many waterfalls are to be seen half-way up the hills, running down between the
over-hanging foliage of the trees.

"Our passage from Galilulu to Baunia was not so successful as that from Samarai
to Galilulu. The wind was against us and we were more than once becalmed. As our
party now consisted only of Mr. King, the mate, Sam and myself, we were unable
to do much in the way of pulling. However, we reached Baunia about 6 A.M. and
dropped anchor a short distance from the beach, as the rollers were too heavy to
enable us to take the boat on to the beach in safety, besides which we were not
certain how the natives might receive us, and we felt it would not do to lead
them into temptation. Soon after our arrival I called out ’Kaihon’ and
’Kausara,’ words meaning that we were friendly, and then two or three natives
swam out through the heavy sea to our boat, bringing coco-nuts and asking for
tobacco, but they refused to come on board. We then arranged our boat for the
night and had something to eat. The mate kindly undertook to keep watch all
night. It was our first Sunday in New Guinea, and it was an unusual one. Don’t
blame us for putting out to sea on our Lord’s Own Day. I felt that I was doing
God’s work in that way far more than if we had remained tossing about on the sea
at Galilulu doing nothing. It was to us what walking or driving to church is to
you, the only difference being that we had no church to go to when we arrived at
Baunia, consequently we had service on board the boat.

"Early on Monday morning we had a cup of cocoa and a biscuit, and prepared to
land, but as the rollers were still heavy I hailed a canoe which came alongside
and into which I attempted to get, but alas, just as I thought I was safely on
board, over it went, and I found myself some distance below the surface. I made
for the canoe, and called out for a rope from our boat and was dragged on board
again. The natives did not attempt to help me, but made straight for the shore,
leaving me to save myself as best I could. We landed about twenty minutes later
on, and were kindly received by forty natives who had congregated on the beach
awaiting our arrival. I tried to find out the chief in order to make him a
present of some tobacco, and thinking that I had found him I gave him some
tobacco for himself and some to give to the others, but he did his best to stick
to the lot, and it was with difficulty that he could be persuaded to give a
portion of it to the rest.

"Mr. King and I shortly after started off with some twenty natives to inspect
the ground strongly recommended by Sir William MacGregor as a site for our
Mission house in preference to the one selected at Galilulu. It appeared to be
about one and a half miles from our place of landing, and on our way we had to
cross a small river, over which the natives carried us. We also passed through
the village, Wedau, which contains some thirty or forty houses and a large
number of natives. The village is a pretty one. The houses are chiefly built on
the ground, but some of them are on piles about four feet high. The dead are
buried in the village, and the tops of the graves are covered with stones. The
inhabitants have two or three slightly raised spots in the centre of the
village, where they meet and sit and talk, stones about eighteen inches high
project from the ground all round, against which they lean their backs. They
appear to have some good gardens, plenty of coco-nuts, and a fair number of
pigs. I ought to have told you that we shipped a cart-horse at Cooktown, and
that while we were at Samarai we had quite a succession of canoes laden with
natives to see ’Horsa,’ and great was their surprise when they beheld him. After
a brief stay in the village we made our way up the hill already referred to. It
took us about a quarter of an hour to get to it from the village, and when we
reached the top we found a level spot of about two acres i o feet above the
sea-level and in every way suitable for our head Mission station, though at
first we shall experience some difficulty in going to and fro till the road is
made, as the rise is very steep.

"The view from the site is grand. There are hills and sea and islands, as well
as a pretty running rivulet just under the hill about 400 yards away.
Fortunately I was able to persuade the Council in Sydney to purchase the blocks
for the house in Australia, and experience has proved that my recommendation was
a wise one, as neither at Galilulu nor here should we have been able to obtain
them, for the site is perfectly clear of timber, and we should have had to go a
long way before we could have found what we needed, viz., 120 piles eleven feet
long.

"On our return to the village we found a large number of men awaiting our
arrival. They were friendly, and boiled our billy for us. We stayed ashore till
10.30, and then, after having made some presents to the chief man of the
village, we left again for Galilulu, where we had arranged that the Grace Lynn
should meet us.

"As regards the choice of sites both Mr. King and I were of opinion that the one
just inspected is much more suitable than Galilulu, consequently we deter mined
to make Bartle Bay our future home. The place is healthy and on a good rise.
There is plenty of water, fair anchorage, a large population round the bay
within three miles of us, and it is more central, being about half-way between
Cape Ducie and Cape Vogel, so that we hope to work the whole of the coast
between these two capes from Bartle Bay. There is also a large area of land
suitable for cultivation either for coco-nuts or other tropical products.
Cultivation is a matter we must keep in view for the future support of the
mission. Sir William MacGregor impressed that point upon me before I said
good-bye to him at Samarai, and he only reiterated what I used to say frequently
in Australia, that we should make manual labour part of our Christian teaching
in the training of the natives.

"After leaving the village we were becalmed, and at 4.30 had to take to the oars
and pull for the shore till 7.30. It was the hardest bit of work Mr. King and I
had done for some time, for it was no easy work for four men to pull a boat as
large as the Tasmania is. We made for a small bay at the head of Cape Frere,
and, after making some soundings, found an anchorage in about seventeen fathoms,
and there stayed for the night. Next day we called at a small village six miles
from Galilulu. As it was getting dark one of the Taupota boys, who had been with
us in the boat on the first day from Samarai to Chad’s Bay, came and gave us a
hearty welcome, and engaged seven others with himself to row us to Galilulu. You
can imagine our feelings of gratitude, for if he had not come we should have had
to do it ourselves. We gave them a good feed before leaving, and promised each
of them four sticks of tobacco and some ’kai kai’ (food). You would have laughed
if you had seen the vain attempt they made to row with European oars.
Fortunately, some of them were apt pupils, and it was not long before we were
able to take a little well-earned rest. We reached Chad’s Bay at about I 2.15
A.M., and the natives went ashore and boiled our billy, and we had some tea at i
A.M. and turned in a little before 2 o’clock. Our bed was a hard one on the
bottom of the boat, but our sleep was sound.

"Our native crew made a fire on the beach, and smoked and sang songs through the
night and were up long before us in the morning. We had some cocoa at 5.30 and
rowed farther round the bay, hoping to find the Grace Lynn, but she had not
arrived. We were shortly afterwards hailed by the chief of Awaiama, and made our
way to the shore opposite his village, and got the natives to pull our boat on
to the beach to await the arrival of the Grace Lynn. Not long after our landing
a large number of natives assembled, among them being many of my old friends,
who gave us all a hearty welcome in genuine New Guinea fashion, and expected
some tobacco in return. The native women set to work and cooked us native food
and brought it to us. The chief’s wife, or one of them, the mother of a young
boy, eyed me with much concern because of the friendly terms existing between
her son and myself. At last she came and made me promise not to take the boy
away with me in the boat. I promised her not to do so, and she went away
somewhat contented though she still kept a close watch on me. All the same it is
my intention to make an effort, later on, to get her to lend us the boy, to be
trained in our schools, as he is a very intelligent fellow and his quickness in
picking up English words is marvellous. About three o’clock in the afternoon we
sighted the Grace Lynn and pulled out to meet her. We took with us the chief of
Awaiama and a native crew to show them the wonderful horse, or as they called it
the ’enormous pig’. Great was their surprise at seeing him, and it was with
difficulty that they could be made to go near him. I took them ashore close to
Galilulu and said farewell, and had got about a quarter of a mile from the
shore, when our boat was hailed by Abrahama, and I returned and pressed him to
accompany us to Bartle Bay. After some persuasion and promises of reward in the
shape of tobacco, Turkey red and beads, he consented to take a trip with us to
Bartle Bay. The simple way in which these men travel is striking. They have no
luggage, no clothes, and no anxiety as to the whereabouts of their personal
effects. Abrahama with his three friends came on board, and as far as I could
learn gave no messages to be sent to his wife as to the length of time he would
be away, but I suppose she is accustomed to her husband’s frequent journeys by
land and sea, as he often takes a trip to visit his friends long distances away
from Taupota, and never takes his wife with him.

"We arrived in Bartle Bay at four o’clock on 13th August, and as soon as the
anchor was dropped I went ashore, accompanied by Mr. King and the three
carpenters, Abrahama acting as our interpreter and guide. Before reaching the
shore he called out to the natives of the village not to be afraid, that we were
missionaries and were coming to be their friends and wanted to dwell with them,
but in spite of all he said some of them ran away into the bush, and only
returned some time after we had landed. Abrahama introduced us to the chief, and
I gave him some tobacco and fastened a sulu of Turkey red round his waist. We
were conducted to the meeting-place on the beach, and soon some 120 men and boys
and one woman came round us. Abrahama then made a long speech to them, in which
we gathered that he told them what our object in coming was, and that we asked
to build a large house and make gardens. Then he made them sing and say ’Dewa
Dewa’ (very good). After going in and out among them, I asked Abrahama to
explain to the chief that we wished to purchase land from them on which to build
our house, and that we should like him to go with us and inspect it. This he
consented to do, and accompanied by about eighty natives, we made our way
through the village, and up the hill, to the site we wished to buy from him.
When we had pointed out to him what we wanted, he was asked, through Abrahama,
what he would part with it for, and we arranged with him that, in return for ten
tomahawks, ten big knives, ten small knives, twenty-five pipes, thirty pounds of
tobacco, five shirts, a piece of Turkey red and some beads, he should give us
the land. He seemed pleased with the bargain, and we were more than satisfied to
have settled the matter so quickly, and on terms that suited all parties
concerned. Before leaving the site, we made arrangements with the chief to build
us a native house, not far from where the big house was to be. This he agreed to
do in return for three tomahawks, and to have it finished in three days. When we
reached the village he showed us his own house, and we asked him to build us one
on the hill like it, and he promised to do so. Abrahama suggested to him that he
should come off to the schooner with us, and after a good deal of discussion
about the risks to be incurred, he came, and we showed him the ’big pig,’ i.e.,
the horse, at which he wondered greatly. He kept a safe distance from him. We
got him to sit down with us to tea, but he wouldn’t take anything except a small
piece of biscuit and a drink of tea. Half an hour later we heard a great
shouting on the beach, the natives asking if their chief Gairaku was safe. He
called out to them to send us a pig for a present, in return for which we had to
give a tomahawk. Shortly after the chief returned to the village, laden with
tobacco, pipes, matches and biscuits. Abrahama accompanied him and slept on
shore. Later in the evening we heard a number of natives singing on the beach
opposite our ship, led by Abrahama. It sounded sweet as the music floated over
the water, and the Southern Cross resting right over the village seemed to us a
happy omen on the first night of our anchorage in the bay, where we hope before
long to raise the Standard of the Cross, and claim for its soldiers those whose
voices we could hear as we gazed upon the cross formed of stars floating over
them.

"Early in the morning of 13th August the carpenters made a start with the raft
on which the cargo is to be floated from the ship to the shore, a distance of a
quarter of a mile. The natives watched them at work with great interest, and
were astonished at the number of their tools and the use made of them,
especially of the auger. The horse was taken ashore later on in the day, and on
his being landed many of the natives ran away into the bush, but they soon
returned, and some of them brought him grass to eat, though they wouldn’t
venture near him. I cannot speak too highly of the manner in which Abrahama has
helped us. He is rather a short man with a pleasant face, a merry disposition,
but at the same time is dignified when addressing his fellow- countrymen. It was
interesting to watch him as he stood and spoke to the natives on our first
arrival. He took my umbrella and held it over his head, and made use of it when
he said anything important. I like him very much, and I think that he will be of
great use to us in the mission from Cape Ducie to Cape Vogel, as he knows the
coast well and is well known by most of the natives. Yesterday morning, as he
watched me shaving myself, he requested me to shave him, and for the first time
in my life I acted in the capacity of shaving man, and gave satisfaction to
Abrahama, as he testified when he saw himself in the glass after I had finished
with him.

"19th August.--All the natives of this and the adjoining villages are busily
engaged erecting a native house for us on the top of the hill. It is a large
one, forty-five feet by twenty-three, and we shall live in it and use it for
many purposes during the building of the Mission house. Their ideas of straight
lines and measurements are primitive, and I am afraid that most of the posts of
the house are crooked, and none of the measurements are correct. The house is
built of wood, palm leaves and grass, and it will be very cool. It is an
interesting sight to see 160 of the natives going up the hill in single file
carrying the material for the native house on their backs, and during the
building the amount of arguing which goes on is very great. They work very hard
for a short time and then rest. Some of the posts for the Mission house are
twelve feet long and very heavy, and it is with difficulty that we are getting
them taken up the hill. I give five sticks of tobacco for every post taken to
the top, and we have twenty up already, but it is slow work. We have had such a
lot of rain, and everything has been soaking wet, our beds in the cabin
included, as the Grace Lynn has no proper awning. We are roughing it in earnest
now and shall have to do so till nearly Christmas. Our Sunday was strictly
observed as a day of rest from manual labour. I told the chief on Saturday night
not to do anything to the house as we all wanted to rest, and he did as he was
requested. We had service in the morning on the beach close to the village. Most
of our white men came ashore, and we had a large congregation of natives
surrounding us. Abrahama was present and acted as my interpreter. It was an
interesting service and very reverent. In the afternoon we rowed up to Warnira,
a village about a mile and a half farther down the bay. Magaia the chief was at
Wedau, our village, and in passing through it I gave him a piece of Turkey red
and a necklet of beads. His village is clean and pretty, and there are
well-built native houses in it.

"The chief arrived before us, and he and his wife received us warmly and gave us
coco-nut milk to drink. He has two fine young sons, both of whom we should like
to have at our Mission station. In the evening we had service on board, which
Mr. King took. On our return from Wamira to Wedau we found a large gathering of
natives being addressed by Abrahama. He was telling them what he knew about
Christianity and why we had come. They sang nicely, and he said a short prayer,
having learnt it, I presume, on his many visits to the Mission station of the
L.M.S. at Suau. He speaks English fairly well, though he finds some of our words
very difficult to pronounce, for instance, ’jam’ he always calls ’dam’. He was
for a time on a sugar plantation at Townsville, but he didn’t like it, and was
glad to return to his own country. At the same time his knowledge of English,
learnt at Townsville, has proved most useful to us. Late on Saturday night a
dozen native men arrived from Samarai, having been sent by Sir William MacGregor
to assist us, in case the natives should not be friendly disposed towards us.
With them was the chief of Awaiama and another from Mime Bay. I arranged with
the chief of Wedau that he should lend them one of his houses (he has five) in
return for some tobacco. Fortunately the natives had received us kindly, so that
we did not need outside aid." To the Primate on 23rd August he writes an account
of the beginning of his work, and adds: "We are looking forward with pleasure to
meeting the people from Victoria and hope they will be as pleased with Bartle
Bay as we are. Thank God, we have escaped the fever thus far and we are taking
every precaution against it. I hope you will kindly assure Mr. King’s friends
that he is in no danger here from natives. The only thing I am sorry for is,
that he has to rough it so much. To me it is a matter of indifference, as I am
strong, but to him I fear it is not so, but in less than a month it will be
different."

He writes on the same date to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson: "You will find
Samarai or Dinner Island very hot, much more so than this. Here it is
comparatively cool and very pleasant at night. You must be prepared to rough it
for a short time, though I trust not for long. I pray God that you may be happy
and useful here. You will find the natives kind and friendly. We must all try to
keep well and strong, and then we shall be able to do all that God wishes us to
do." In another letter to Melbourne friends on the same day, he describes
himself sitting under a tree on a bucket with another for a table, and with lots
of natives round him on the ground, singing their native songs. "I am almost
black with sunburn and I am glad of it," he writes. Our letters are to be
entrusted to native boys, who will take them over 100 miles to Samarai to be
sent on by the first boat to Cooktown. That is our nearest post-office." A
letter to England, dated 23rd August, describes the new site suggested by Sir
William MacGregor: "We could see it from ten miles out at sea, a beautiful
grass- covered plateau, 200 feet above the level of the sea and half a mile
inland. Underneath it, and nearer the sea, is the pretty native village of
Wedau, of which Gairaku is the chief. We had to pass through this village on our
way to the hill which the natives call Dogura. The houses are not of the best
and the village is untidily kept. There are lovely shade trees both in the
village and on the beach, under which the natives pass the greater part of the
day." The following is an extract of a letter to Mrs. d’Arlot dated 3 August:
"The weather has been against us. To-day and yesterday it has been raining
continually, but we are fortunate in having had a native house erected which is
waterproof. To-day, Sunday, we had a short service in the village, but it is
difficult to understand the natives as the language is not easy to acquire. We
are teaching them to sing tunes and some very simple words. Four scrap-books are
a great delight to them. I gave them to the chiefs when they have helped me with
my work. One of the chiefs is sleeping in my room. It is now 10 P.M. He is lying
close to me and came of his own accord. His home is two miles from here. His
name is Magaia. He wears a long matted pigtail of human hair about two feet down
his back. The dolls, which the people of Melbourne gave us, have caused endless
amusement, and many natives, both old and young, have come long distances to see
them. We have been washing our clothes all day, but after all our boiling they
look any thing but white, but we had no soda, blue, starch or scrubbing brushes!
Cooking is most unpleasant, and our variety of food is small. Vegetables and
fresh meat we have said good-bye to for some time."

Trying difficulties and delays arose over the building of the house, which was
not finished nearly as soon as they hoped. The Grace Lynn returned to Samarai on
10th September, and Mr. King went down in her to make some arrangements about
cargo to be shipped by her, and also to meet Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson and Mr.
Kennedy in the Myrtle. In a somewhat disheartened letter under the same date we
read: "Don’t think I wish to complain, but after all I am only human, and I am
fond of pleasant people and social life. Here, then, I shall be for three years,
and then, if God spares me, a change, perhaps for good, as by that time the
mission will need another head than mine to manage affairs. I hope that you
remember me in your prayers, for I am sure that I need them. Pray that we may be
kept free from fever and other troubles in New Guinea." In another letter he
says: "Last night we had three inches of rain under our beds, the water having
soaked in all round". Their first mail reached Dogura on 17th September, and was
a source of delight to the lonely missionary, as was also the visit of H.M.S.
Royalist. He wrote on the 18th: "It was such a treat to get news. We have just
had a great pig feast, at which over 1,000 natives were present. Fifteen pigs
were carried in procession and then killed. I went to the feast. The dancing was
very strange. The big ship awes them a good deal, and it was with difficulty
that I got them to keep their women and children in the village, as they wanted
to send them off to the bush. The electric light and fireworks on the ship were
a great surprise to them. I am most thankful for this visit, as it will impress
the natives and have a restraining influence upon them for good." On 9 November
he writes as follows to Canon Godby: "We have tried to make our little native
chapel worthy of His Sacred Presence. The Holy Table, with its hangings, cross,
etc., helps us to realise that, humble as it is, it is our special meeting-place
with our Heavenly Father.

"We have had King ill for the last four weeks, and quite unable to do anything.
He is returning to Sydney for a change and on business for the Mission. Peter,
our boatman, has also been very ill, but he is mending, and will be ready
to-morrow to go over 100 miles in the open boat to meet the mail at Samarai. So
you see that we are getting our share of trouble already. (Here follow details
concerning short shipment of necessary parts of the house, etc., necessitating
the cessation of the work and the return of the carpenters to Sydney.) It is a
source of much irritation to me, and I am, I fear, very irritable at times. I
need the graces of meekness and patience more than ever. The trouble over the
house is interfering much with the mission work, and I have scarcely had a
minute to spare, as I have been working as an artisan for the last two months,
helping to get the timber up and stacked, and holes dug, and Peter and 11 have
laid almost all the floor that is down. But next week I am going to begin in
earnest. Last week I went to Samarai, the headquarters of the Government here,
too miles across the sea, in our Tasmanian boat, and we had a terrible time of
it. In addition to a big boil, I was terribly sick, and we had wet and squally
weather the whole way. Once I began to prepare for the end as I thought it was
coming when we were crossing Milne Bay, which is thirty miles wide, in the midst
of a terrible squall. We got back at 2 A.M. on Sunday, in time to keep the feast
of All Saints’, and right glad I was to be on land again. Tomlinson will be a
most useful man, and his wife, too, if only she can keep her health, will be of
great service to the mission. The best thing we have done for the natives is to
teach them to work. They always come to us in sickness, and in death send for me
to comfort the mourners. Poor things, they are only grown-up children and need
much patience. We are hoping that the Governor will be with us in a month, and
then I shall go with him for a trip along the coast and visit my flock. I also
hope to visit in our boat as far as Cape Vogel. I am told the natives are
dangerous farther up, and our chief is still in a state of excitement because he
heard that a powerful tribe is likely to come down and attack us and his
village, and burn our house, and kill and eat us. I laughed at the idea, but he
became still more serious, so that I am anxious to visit them and to make them
presents in order to pacify them. Cannibalism still exists here though we
haven’t seen anything of it. Some months ago, a number of our natives went to
Taupota, a large village near where we had intended to have built our house, and
on returning, whilst passing Agonai, another village, they were set upon and
three of them were killed and eaten, so that after all we are in a land of
heathen darkness, though to the outward eye they all seem to live morally and
peacefully together. They certainly are a social, kind-hearted, contented lot of
folk and affectionate to their children, while the children are also devoted to
their parents. Since I last wrote to you we have had two more native houses
erected, in one of which King and Kennedy sleep. The kitchen is used as our
study and sitting-room, while underneath it we have made a temporary dining-room
and use a small place outside for cooking in. My bedroom is the small storeroom,
while the Tomlinsons occupy the room built for them. I am glad to hear of the
Office and Litany for the N.G.M. Society; that will help us more than anything
else. May our Lord give you every blessing through His Holy Nativity at
Christmas." On 10th November, 1891, he writes to the Primate: "I am sorry to say
that Mr. King has been very ill and has caused us no little anxiety. He went to
Samarai in the Grace Lynn on 10th September and return three weeks later in good
health, but a week later he was taken ill, and has been laid up ever since. It
is on my strong recommendation that he is leaving for Sydney at once, and I
trust you will prevail upon him to consult the best physician in the city. There
is no doubt but that this is a trying climate and we all feel the effects of it.
Mr. King was loath to leave as he is devoted to his work and happy here and the
natives like him very much. I prevailed on him to leave on the ground of his
presence being needed in view of business matters in Sydney, so that he comes
prepared to represent the mission in regard to the difficulties that have arisen
concerning the house. He ought not to return till his health is thoroughly
restored and he is quite strong again. Kindly impress this upon him. Fever has
not touched any one yet except myself, and that is only the remains of bygone
days. Our land has been confirmed to us by the Government, i.e., about 160
acres. We purchased more on the visit of the magistrate; this will explain our
need of more tobacco.

"Our household arrangements are in a terrible state and we are roughing it in
real earnest. I have been acting as carpenter and labourer for the last six
weeks, and to-morrow we are going to begin to dig the drains. We hope in the
course of a few days to settle down to a definite study of the language. We are
making friends with the natives for a long distance, and a constant succession
of them come to visit us from distant parts. I am expecting the Governor here
next month, when I hope to take a trip along the north-east coast with him. I
deeply regret the amount of trouble that has arisen over the house and shipping,
but I trust that it will all come right in time. We are longing for news from
the outside world. It seems long to have to wait, but our work keeps the mind
occupied. We have a very simple native chapel in which we hold services
daily--Morning Prayer at 6.30; Evensong at 8; Holy Communion on Sundays and
Saints’ Days at 7.30.--and we all appreciate these times of refreshment. I can
not write a longer letter this time, but as I have been writing since seven this
morning, I know you will kindly excuse this brief account of my doings. Mr. King
will tell you more."

"The early days at Dogura," says Mr. King, "were very trying. No one without
perseverance as well as an excess of energy could have worked as Maclaren did.
Urging natives to work, keeping them in good temper the while, learning their
language, looking for the promised visitors from Samarai, superintending the
landing of the goods from the schooner, taking one day at washing clothes and
another day finding out more natives to come and work--it was trying. More over,
Maclaren did not care to cook, I could not, and our Rotuman cook was too sick to
do anything. Maclaren got feverish occasionally, and had to take it easy in his
hammock. But we kept going somehow. We were even able to see the humorous side
of things.

"Maclaren found time to make a fair start with the language, and wrote down a
few hundred native words. Sometimes he would take a little recreation and stroll
round, shooting pigeons. Occasionally on off-days he would go down to the
village, visiting the natives and trying to talk with them. He made good use of
a naturally playful humour in such intercourse. He would amuse them with
imitations of the cries of ducks, frogs, and other sounds of nature, and would
romp with them. But sometimes what looked like pure fun was really something
more, an exercise of strength in the game would show that he was not to be
tackled too easily if ever they thought of attempting anything more serious.

"When the natives were working for him he looked after them strictly and would
allow no loitering. When he found them pilfering, or committing any other petty
offence, he soon taught them to fear his anger. But generally he was good
friends all round, and delighted in showing them looking-glasses, black dolls
and pictures, and other odds and ends which excited their amazement. He realised
that they were as children and were to be treated accordingly.

"On Sundays he would go down to the villages, and first in Wedau, and then at
Wamira, would gather the people together; tell them the names of Adam and Eve,
Cain and Abel, and about the Father above the clouds who made us, and His Son,
Jesus Christ. He composed two hymns. They were simple enough, and we found them
afterwards to be entirely incorrect, but they served to give some glimmering of
his meaning to the natives. By degrees things got a little more ship-shape, and
we had regular meals and more comfortable quarters. On 11th November I came away
as I could not get back my strength. With me came the two carpenters, as they
were unable to do more to the house for lack of some special material, and Sam
the cook, who had never done any cooking. Before we started we went into the
chapel and Maclaren conducted a short prayer-meeting. It was our farewell though
we did not know it. I remember yet the prayers he said and the emotion he
showed. Then he came with us to the beach and I saw him no more."

He who had written of himself as being so well and strong was in six short weeks
to be called away from his earthly labours, while the colleague whom he was
sending away with prayerful anxiety to recover his lost health was to be spared
for many years to carry on the work which they had entered upon together. As
soon as the work at Dogura was well in hand, Maclaren began to look farther
afield. It was no part of his scheme that the Mission should be confined to one
spot. He determined first to visit the villages of Boianai and Radava, sixteen
miles along the coast, the people of which kept sending down threatening
messages that they would come down and kill the little band of missionaries, and
the people of Wedau for receiving them. He started once in the whale-boat, but
had to return for want of wind. Then on Thursday, 26th November, he started
again for Goodenough Bay. An account of this expedition is given in the
following letter to the Primate dated 14th December, 1891:--

"Since writing to you on 10th November matters in the building line have been at
a standstill at Dogura, though we have finished the drainage, which was a big
order for natives, It took seventy men five days to accomplish it, but it has
been well done. We paid them in tobacco and matches, thirty-five pounds of
tobacco and 350 boxes of matches. We have also had a good deal of clearing done
by the women and have planted 250 coco-nuts, while we are at present building a
large native chapel to serve the double purpose of school and church. We have
sufficient ground cleared for another 250 coco-nuts twenty-five feet apart. This
part of the work I am anxious about, in order to secure a permanent income for
the Mission eight or ten years hence, besides providing food for the natives. I
have at present four native orphans living at Dogura, and I hope before long to
have a good many more. These will form our first pupils. Some weeks ago the
natives of Boianai, a large tribe about fourteen miles farther in the bay,
threatened to come and kill us as well as the people of Wedau, and as the threat
continued to be made, I determined to visit them. Neither the chief of Wedau nor
of Wamira would go with us. Three men came with us, but the women on the beach
did all they could to stop them. We could only get seven miles on the way, and
had to return owing to contrary winds. On our return journey we met two large
canoes from Wedau coming to see that all was right. They told us that the women
were crying and saying that we should all be killed. Next morning we started at
5.30, after an early Communion. We were accompanied by the chiefs of Awaiama,
Wedau and Wamira, as well as by two native canoes laden with men. We arrived at
Boianai at 2 P.M., and I landed alone, and went straight into the village and
made friends. I showed them that I had nothing with me and they were friendly. I
then sent for the chiefs that had come with us, and I made them pull noses with
the chiefs of Boianai and Radava. I gave to each of the chiefs a red shirt, a
number of which the friends of the mission in Melbourne supply me with. They
were pleased, and gave me some fruit and vegetables in return. Later on each of
them gave me a pig, in return for which I gave them a tomahawk. These villages
are close together, only a small stream dividing them. There must be a very
large population within a few miles of Boianai as there are numerous villages
along the coast and inland on the slopes of the hills. About two miles from
Boianai, is a village called Dogura, so that for the future it will be better to
call this place Victoria Dogura to distinguish it from its more important
namesake.

"We left Boianai at five in the evening and reached home soon after twelve
midnight.

"A few days later we had a visit from one of the chiefs of the places we had
visited, bringing us fruit and vegetables.

"Their custom is to pinch one’s nose and stomach as a symbol of friendship. I
offered him, among other things, a small black doll, but he was afraid and
refused to accept it.

"On Sunday, 29th November, just after midnight, I left in the boat for an
extended trip round Goodenough Bay. Mr. Kennedy and the chiefs of Wedau and
Wamira as well as a few natives accompanied me. We sailed across the bay to Kapi
Kapi, a large village on Cape Vogel, where our boat anchored until Wednesday
morning. I found my old friends had not forgotten me and they received rue
kindly. They brought us coco-nuts. I visited all the villages, thirteen in
number, and made friends with the chiefs, giving them presents and purchasing
food from them. We pulled round to a village about four miles distant in
Collingwood Bay and stayed there for the night. The inhabitants complained
bitterly of the Maisini tribe in Collingwood Bay who had come down and killed
some of them and stole their pigs. I told them that the Governor would come
by-and-by and punish their enemies. During my stay at Cape Vogel I obtained 500
words of the language, which is distinct from that of Wedau. On our return we
visited nearly every village in Goodenough Bay, and were kindly received in most
places, though in more than six villages the inhabitants had never seen a white
man. In two or three villages skulls were hanging from the trees with masses of
human hair above them. These I got them to bury. Our chiefs tell me that they
are all cannibals and always eat their victims in time of war. In two places I
was in some danger, and in one place they went for their spears, but their
deadly weapon is the sling and stone. With it they never miss. I always landed
alone, as I did not wish to run the risk of more than one being attacked.

"Great care will have to be taken in approaching the villages at the head of the
bay, and I fear that it will be some time before they learn to trust us in the
way the people do among whom we are living. We also visited a large group of
villages in and around Boianai and had a pig given to us. Altogether it was a
very interesting voyage and I think it will do good. I cannot speak too highly
of Peter the boatman and his care in taking the boat in and out among the coral
reefs and rocks along the coast. To send him away at the end of six months would
be the greatest mistake, and for the best interests of the Mission I cannot
agree to the suggestion of the Hon. Secretary to dismiss him at the end of his
agreement. Whether he is willing to remain longer is another matter. We arrived
back at Dogura on Friday just before midnight, and we were glad to get a good
night’s rest on a softer bed than the planks of our boat.

"Early on Sunday morning news was brought that the people of Radava had killed
the chief of Boianai, and after the early Communion I started in one of the
native canoes for Boianai, being accompanied by the chiefs of Wedau and Wamira,
and forty natives of the two villages in other canoes. We reached our
destination at 4 p.m. and went at once to mourn at the grave of the chief. It
was a sad sight, the whole village was in mourning. Many of them had cut their
hair off, while more had painted their faces black. His poor widow and children
were in a terrible state. He was killed early on Saturday morning, just as he
was about to start for Dogura on a visit to us. The origin of the fight I cannot
ascertain. The Radava people attacked with stones and slings, and many of the
men have terrible wounds on their heads and bodies. I did all I could to comfort
them, and gave them presents of beads. The next thing was to find out the name
of the new chief. It is Gidabona. He is a fine-looking man, and promises to make
a good chief. I asked all the people if he were the new chief, and when they
replied that he was, I gave him a new red shirt and pulled noses, and drank some
coco-nut milk. Soon after he brought me a pig as a present, in return for which
I made him a present. They were anxious that I should remain the night, and when
I consented their pleasure was great. I was quite alone, and it pleased them to
see that I trusted them. I slept in a large native house set apart for the men
of the village, and around me were over fifty natives, who know far better than
white men how to snore! My bed was the shingle off the beach, and neither it nor
the feeling that I was in the midst of a people of impulse made me sleep
soundly. Some time after my arrival the people of Radava (the chief was away in
his gardens ten miles off) sent me a pig, which I told the Wedau and Wamira
natives to return as I could not accept it from them, lest they should think I
accepted it as a peace- offering for the slain chief. I found out the name of
the murderer and some of the leaders of the attack. I got a promise from the
Boianai people that they would not themselves avenge the death of their chief,
but wait for the arrival of the Governor, and this I am glad to say they
promised; this will prevent further blood shed.

"Early next morning we made a start for home, but alas, when we had got about
three miles on our journey I heard the squeaking of a pig on the canoe on which
I was travelling (the present of Gidabona was on the other canoe). I asked where
the pig came from, and they replied ’Radava’. I told them that I had refused to
accept it. It appears that, instead of taking it back, they kept it, and
intended to keep it a secret from me. I at once ordered them to make for the
land and carry it back to Radava. They murmured at first, but I insisted and the
thing was done. It would never have done to have accepted it, and I was anxious
to show them how strongly I disapproved of the murder of the chief. Later on
they returned and told me that the Radava people would kill me when next I
visited their village. I laughed. On Saturday last Wagavara, chief of Radava,
visited these parts, and I met him in one of the villages, Boaunia, fives miles
from here. He told me that he strongly disapproved of the murder and had wept at
the grave of the slain chief. He also promised to deliver up Tamarusa, the
murderer, to the Governor on his arrival. Yesterday, Sunday, he paid me a visit
and had some food with us, and we parted the best of friends. I am very sorry
that the murder has happened, though it has ended less terribly than it might
have done. It must needs be that sooner or later one man shall be severely
punished in this bay for murder, as it will act as a check on others, though we
have nothing to do with that. My duty ends in re porting the affair to the
Governor.

"Later on I am hoping to get all the chiefs of the bay to meet me at Boianai and
get them to promise to refrain from attacking each other. I would have the
meeting at Dogura, but I think that they would more readily come to a place
where I could meet them alone. I am known all through the mission as ’Amau
Alaberta’ (Father Albert). I hope that the title will not shock the ears of my
brethren. It was suggested to me by the Protestant Standard (name of a paper in
Sydney). Poor things, they need a father to guide them, for they are only like
children, and need to be dealt with as such.

"Every Sunday we hold service at Wedau and Wamira, as well as at Dogura. I have
made two simple hymns, and I tell them the story of the Father’s Love, and they
like to listen to the story of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. The serpent and
the stealing and the murder is not strange to them. Many of them know the names
of the four first persons and tell the story to others, but in an exaggerated
form.

"Our work is rough and discouraging, so that a little encouragement from Sydney,
in addition to the frequent admonitions against extravagance and impatience,
will help us to go on trying to make God’s Way known upon earth, His Saving
Health among the poor people of this portion of New Guinea.

"On Wednesday and Thursday I visited from Bartle Bay to Cape Frere and had to
sleep out, and since my return I have been laid up, but as I have already
detained the boat a day I must make a move to-night to Samarai, calling at
Taupota, Awaiama and other places on the way, as I am anxious to visit all the
villages on the coast between here and Cape Ducie before Christmas." This letter
was discovered after his death, between the pages of his diary. The diary was in
his bag, which was forwarded after his death to the Bishop of Brisbane. With the
letter were four different vocabularies which he had been working at. On the
Wednesday and Thursday after his return from Boianai he went to visit the
villages round Cape Frere, and slept out for the night. The following Sunday he
was not well enough to take the morning service, but recovered sufficiently to
go to the villages in the afternoon, and in the evening he preached a sermon,
one of the Advent series on death and the uncertainty of life. On Monday
evening, 14th December, he started in the whale-boat Tasmania for Samarai,
having with him Mr. C. E. Kennedy and Peter the boatman. They encountered bad
weather, and being in an open boat got very wet. Maclaren as usual was very
sea-sick. Just before reaching Samarai on 16th December he had a shivering fit
and thought that an attack of fever was coming on. He took some quinine and lay
down. On arriving at the wharf, however, he went ashore and slept at the
Government Residency on the hill. The next morning he complained of bad
headache, and said that he had had no sleep. During the day he was attacked by
violent sickness, which recurred continually during the next six days. On 23rd
December he was better and able to get up and sit in the verandah, but the next
day he was worse again, and was delirious at night and had to take sleeping
draughts. On Christmas Day he wrote to his mother: "I am very sorry that I have
not been able to write to you before. I was away and ill, and could not catch
the mail. This one goes to-morrow. This is Christmas Day. I suppose that you
will be at church and make your Communion. I thought of you to-day. I feel a
little better. Don’t be anxious. He will look after me. I will write again
soon."

While he was lying ill the Merrie England arrived at Samarai with the Governor
on board, and Maclaren witnessed some judicial transactions and expressed to
Judge Winter his interest in what he saw. The Governor gave him some medicine
and asked him if he would go back to Dogura in the Merrie England; but he was
afraid of sea-sickness, as he knew that the steam yacht always rolled very much.
Mr. Kennedy then left him, to go back to Dogura for Christmas, and the Governor
with his party went to Dobu, the Wesleyan Mission Station, then to Dogura and
back to Samarai. The Governor had, however, stopped at Normanby Island, and the
Merrie England was on her way to Cooktown with Sir Samuel Griffith, the
Queensland Premier, Judge Winter and Mr. Hely, the Samarai magistrate, who were
going on three months’ leave. When they got back to Samarai the second time they
came to the conclusion that Maclaren was so ill that he should be taken to see
the doctor at Cooktown. He, on the contrary, was now very anxious to go "home"
as soon as possible to Dogura. He grew worse, how ever, and was almost
unconscious and delirious when they carried him on board the Merrie England
about 11 A.M. on Saturday (26th December) and started for Cooktown. Although
they thought him very ill, they did not anticipate his death. They suspected
that there must be more than fever the matter with him, perhaps a weak heart,
and thought that he seemed to give in to the fever, and made no effort to
struggle against it. They did their best to keep up his strength with champagne
during the day, but in the evening his temperature rose to 1o6. Later, as the
result of a dose of antifebrin, he broke into a gentle perspiration and went off
to sleep. He seemed to sleep well all night, and a little before six o’clock
next morning (27th December, S. John’s Day) Mr. Hely saw him sleeping on his
side. The steward vent into his cabin a few minutes afterwards and asked him if
he could do any thing for him. He replied, "No thank you, I want nothing". He
was then sensible and seemed better. A quarter of an hour later he was found
"fallen asleep" with a serene smile upon his face. The body was sewn up in a
hammock, and on the arrival of the Merrie England at Cooktown on the following
day--Holy Innocents’ Day--was laid to rest in Cooktown Cemetery. The expressions
of regret, the letters of sympathy that poured in on the mourning Church, the
memorial services throughout the length and breadth of Australia when the sad
tidings of this pathetic death became known, testify to the widespread love and
affection felt for him. It was best expressed by the friend who loved him so
well, the late Bishop of Brisbane, at the memorial service held in old S. John’s
Cathedral on Wednesday, 30th December. The bishop said: "We have assembled not
to listen to an address, but to join in sympathetic imagination with that small
band who, two days ago, in our northern town over against that great island
which has been the scene of his labours, stood around the grave and saw
committed to its last resting- place all that is mortal of him whom we knew and
loved so well, who has given his life in the service of his Lord and Master in
the missionary field. We are met to thank God for having given us the example of
a true and faithful servant. We are thankful to God for the sterling reality,
the genuineness, the simplicity of character, the childlike faith which marked
his whole bearing and inspired his whole work. We felt the reality and true
manhood of his character, and all who came into contact with him were freshened,
enlivened, and quickened in their own faith. Almost the closing sentence of his
last letter was expressive of that single-hearted devotion which animated his
whole life. In reference to his hopes of acquiring soon the language of those to
whom he had gone to minister, ’Poor things,’ he wrote, ’how one longs for the
time to come when one will be able to tell them of our Lord and of His Love’.
Does not this, I say, exactly express the whole secret of his life and work, his
simple, strong, earnest attachment to his Saviour, and by consequence his
intense sympathy with all human life?"

It was not till 6th January that the little band at Dogura knew that they had
lost their chief. "The news stunned us all," is the entry in the diary of one of
the party. The natives heard it with every sign of grief. The two chiefs of
Wedau and Wamira, with all the men and women out of the villages, went up to the
Mission, wailing and crying pitiably. The Taupota people, from some twenty miles
away, did the same. The chief of Wamira, Magaia, in particular, was evidently
deeply affected by the news. He went so far as to blacken his face, an
expression of grief only used in New Guinea when a near relation dies. The
Governor of British New Guinea, Sir William MacGregor, wrote to the Bishop of
Brisbane; "His value as a public servant I have recorded in my despatches. . . .
To me the loss is a double one. I have lost in Mr. Maclaren a very highly
esteemed friend, who was sincere and enthusiastic in the work he was
undertaking, and sympathetic towards the endeavours of the Government. I have
lost also a faithful and efficient colleague. I have seen with great pleasure
the appreciative notice taken of Mr. Maclaren’s death in Australia. But believe
me, my dear Bishop, that what would be most in harmony with the feelings of Mr.
Maclaren when alive would be that his memory were honoured by the speedy and
vigorous prosecution of the work he spent his life in initiating in this
country. That your Church will be of this opinion I do not for a moment doubt.

"Yours faithfully, "WM. MACGREGOR."

There were of course many ready enough to talk of "failure" and "a valuable life
thrown away," but though the leader had fallen at his post, another was found to
take his place, though God had buried His workman, another was found to carry on
the work. Copland King, with unswerving loyalty, returned to hold aloft the
Banner of Christ on the newly founded mission station, and with brave and
patient endurance carried on the work till (though not until the first-fruits
had been already gathered in) the Church in Australia awoke at last to her
responsibility, and sent a bishop to the rescue of the native infant Church,
struggling for life under overwhelming difficulties.

Montagu John Stone-Wigg was consecrated bishop on the Feast of the Conversion of
S. Paul, 1898, and under him that native Church, with her bands of Papuan
catechumens and Christians, her teachers and evangelists, and even her first
candidates for a native ministry, has bravely battled on where the banner first
was planted. It was for this that Albert Maclaren laid down his bright, heroic
life, and yet a faithless world dares to talk of "thrown away."

Other European labourers have followed their pioneer "within the veil," and
Papua has her first-fruits in Paradise, and so the Church lives and grows. Truly
as of old "God buries His workmen but carries on His work".


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 13: 11.  A REMINISCENCE
========================================================================

Chapter 11 A Reminiscence. A CLERGYMAN, the late Rev. E. H. H. Brodhurst, who
served five years in Queensland, says: "I first heard of Mr. Maclaren about the
year I889 or 1890. He had been to my home to preach and speak on behalf of the
New Guinea Mission, and I was very much struck, on making a visit there shortly
afterwards, with the impression he had made. The parish in question was a large
overgrown village, close to the Nottinghamshire coalfield, and including large
stocking mills, a place not easy to interest in foreign missions. But Mr.
Maclaren, from what I learnt then, and from personal knowledge of him obtained
later on, appeared to me to be peculiarly possessed with the power of
interesting others. One or two instances, given with as close verbal accuracy as
possible, will serve to illustrate this. On Sunday at luncheon Mr. Maclaren
inquired of the vicar’s wife who it was that had occupied a certain seat at the
morning service. The name was given, it being that of a leading lady in the
place. ’Well,’ he said, ’you will see that she will be at church again
to-night.’ ’Oh, no,’ said the vicar’s wife, ’Mrs. So-and-so is not going out in
the evening at present. So it is out of the question.’ ’Oh, indeed,’ he said,
’you will see that she will be there.’ And when the evening came, there she was,
and also at the meeting on Monday night, making one of a crowded attendance.

"I remember on the other hand one very devoted Sunday School teacher of many
years’ standing classing him with a well-known mission preacher as the two men
who, at least to her, had seemed to have the most marked spiritual power she
could recall in her experience. A year or two later I was an inmate of the
bishop’s house in Brisbane (Queensland) prior to starting clerical work in that
diocese. Mr. Maclaren arrived very late on Friday night or very early on a
Saturday morning, and almost at once started off with the bishop and one or two
other clergy for the dedication of a new bush church some forty miles away. On
that day and on others that followed (he left Brisbane for the last time in the
following week, his death occurring six months later) I can recall most his
infectious good spirits and his abounding vitality. I think some words of Bishop
Phillips Brooks fitly hit off this last characteristic: ’Do we not know (says
the bishop) that there are certain persons in this world whose recognisable
purpose and office it is to increase the amount of this vitality of life in the
regions where they have been set? In every circle or community where you have
ever lived has there not been some man whom you knew as a life-giver? He may or
may not have been a learned man who gave definite instruction in the in creased
vitality. He caused men to do their best. He quickened languid natures. He made
the streams run full. He called the dead to life.’ Something of this was Mr.
Maclaren. Something of this was he that Saturday afternoon after the dedication
of the church at the luncheon given by the church supporters in the bush house
or tent erected for the occasion. Most of his speech has fled from my
recollection, but I remember his sitting next to me and telling the story, in
vindication of free seats in church, of (I think) an old lady, who objected to
the intrusion of a stranger into her pew, and I think I can still see him
putting his head nearly under the plank-made table in imitation of the intruder
in the pew, who was supposed, on hearing the old lady’s irate tones, to have
pretended there was a dog underneath the seat, and to have stooped down as if
searching for this canine object of the pew-owner’s vituperation. Once more I
recall him that same evening at the end of the long, narrow Queensland railway
carriage, elucidating points of High Church teaching and ceremonial for the
edification of a stalwart Brisbane layman, who was, if I mistake not, the
superintendent of the most extreme evangelical Sunday-school of the city. There
again memory fails me as to details, but however repugnant the sentiment might
be to his listener, he was always on good terms with him. All was merged in the
sense of Mr. Maclaren’s abounding good humour, which was itself, I cannot doubt,
the expression of a wholehearted love."

Just under six feet in height, slight and well-built, clear-cut features, a
remarkably sympathetic mouth, beautiful, kindly grey eyes with a far-away look
in them when preaching. His sweet expression was his chief charm, "the spiritual
ascetic expression of a mediaeval saint". His face was often compared to
pictures of S. John and S. Augustine. His voice was very clear and musical, and
he knew how to use it (perhaps unconsciously) to move his hearers. The tunes of
some hymns and Litanies are for this reason for ever associated by some of his
friends with his memory. As tender as a woman and as gentle as a child, he could
be firm to obstinacy and angry on occasion--then the soft eyes would flash
defiantly and his words would sting. Men who could not tolerate his
Churchmanship have been known to say that his personality conquered them.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 14: 12.  NOTE BY THE BISHOP OF NEW GUINEA
========================================================================

Chapter 12 Note by the Bishop of New Guinea. THE New Guinea Mission at the
beginning of 1908 had dealt with the 300 miles of coast-line between Cape Ducie
and the British-German boundary as follows:--

1. Goodenough Bay--from Cape Ducie to Cape Vogel. This district is almost
completely occupied by the Mission. Over 7,000 people are in close touch with
the staff, and 16 places have resident teachers with schools, churches and
boarders. At 63 additional places services are held. Nine hundred children
attend the day schools. There are 400 catechumens, 420 communicants, and over
1,000 have been baptised. The whole Old Testament Lectionary has been
translated, the greater part of the New Testament, the Prayer-book, 110 hymns,
and four reading-books. Scripture, prayers and hymns have been issued in two
dialects. The Secondary School at Dogura with 50 selected boys, the Training
College with 2 students, and the Half-caste Orphanage with 32 children are the
most prominent institutions. Two native catechists from the Training College are
in charge of villages in Goodenough Bay. The industrial settlement at Hioge, the
hospital at Dogura, the herd of cattle in Wedau, and the lighthouse on Cape
Vogel represent the social side, supplementing the educational and evangelistic
work of the Mission.

2. Collingwood Bay--from Cape Vogel to Cape Nelson. The main population, 3,700,
is dealt with in two stations at tile head of the bay. One other place has a
resident teacher, and the harbours of the Cape Nelson promontory are
evangelised. Services are held at 8 centres, and 336 children attend the
schools. The first large baptism takes place this year (1908). Translations have
been issued in two dialects.

3. Beyond Cape Nelson.--A gap of nearly 80 miles is at present unoccupied by the
Mission, then three stations have been established within 25 miles of the
boundary. By these 1,500 people are reached, and 150 children attend school.
Translation work has been issued in a dialect that may prove to be the most
important one on the coast. In addition to native work, Samarai has a resident
clergyman and a school for the children of white settlers. The work here is
among Europeans, though the native prisoners in the gaol and the many native
employees are reached and influenced. Over £140 was raised here for church and
school purposes last year. The progress of the Mission in the last decade may be
summed up in the following table:-- 1898 1908 Mission staff 14 77 School
children 200 1,400 Baptised 17 1,000 Confirmed -- 581 Communicants -- 450
Contributions to £1,000 £6,000 Contributions from £18 £265

Six of the white staff have laid down their lives in the service of the Mission,
and seven South-Sea Island teachers have made their graves in New Guinea. One
hundred baptised Papuans have passed within the veil.

On the 24th of June, 1908, the Bishop presented the sum of £100, free and
unappropriated, in S. Paul’s Cathedral, as the thank-offering of the Church in
Papua for blessings vouchsafed to it.


========================================================================
Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/synge-frances-albert-maclaren-pioneer-missionary-in-new-guinea/
========================================================================