7 September 1823 A.D. Anglican Missionary to New Zealand, Samuel Marsden, Suffers Shipwreck
7 September 1823 A.D. Anglican Missionary to New
Zealand, Samuel Marsden, Suffers Shipwreck
Graves,
Dan. “Samuel Marsden Suffered Shipwreck.”
Christianity.com. Apr 2007.
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/samuel-marsden-suffered-shipwreck-11630394.html.
Accessed 20 May 2014.
Samuel
Marsden, a missionary-pastor in Australia, could not interest the Church
Missionary Society of England in sending someone to take the Gospel to the
Maori of New Zealand. No one wanted to risk being killed and eaten on the
islands. But Samuel believed the job could be done. On a trip to England, he
enlisted two laymen, William Hall, a shipbuilder, and John King, a rope maker.
Later, they were joined by a third, Thomas Kendall, a schoolmaster.
Sailing
back to Australia in 1810, the Church of England minister cared for a Maori
chief who had been cheated and abused by white sailors. This was Ruatara. When
he had returned "Down Under," Samuel took this man into his own home
and paid his passage to New Zealand. The treacherous captain took Samuel's
money but then forced Ruatara to stay on the ship and work for him; but
eventually the chief made it home, grateful to Samuel for his assistance and
for teaching him to grow wheat.
When
Samuel could not get a mission society to act, he and his three friends set out
on their own. However, the Maori massacred a boatload of white men and the
governor denied Samuel permission to sail to New Zealand. Eventually, Samuel
bought a brig, the Active, with his own money and the four men sailed to New
Zealand, accompanied by several Maori who had been living in exile. To show
that he came in peace, Samuel gave gifts to the tribe that had massacred the
ship's crew. On Christmas day, 1814, he preached the first sermon the Maori had
ever heard, its theme being, "Behold, I bring you tidings of great
joy." Ruatara translated.
Through
many dangers and adventures, Samuel brought the Gospel to the Maori and it was
well received. On this day, September 7, 1823, nine years after his first
landing in New Zealand, as Samuel was sailing back to Australia in the
Brampton, disaster struck. A strong east wind drove the ship onto a reef. With
Samuel was a Wesleyan missionary, who was ill. Samuel had a boat lowered so
that he could take this man to safety. Kindly natives shared what they could
with the missionaries and cried aloud in dismay when the wind took down the
Brampton's main mast. It appeared as if the men left on the ship must perish.
However, after a frightening night, all were rescued.
Altogether,
Samuel visited New Zealand seven times. A man of wide vision, he was largely
responsible for organizing the evangelization of the South Pacific. However, he
was also known as the "flogging parson" in Australia for handing out
stiff penalties to convicts. (Parsons often acted as civil magistrates.) A
commission which looked into accusations against his conduct did not
substantiate the charges against him.
Bibliography:
1.
"Marsden,
Samuel." Biographical dictionary of Christian missions, edited by Gerald
H. Anderson. New York: Macmillan Reference,1998.
2.
"Marsden,
Samuel." The Dictionary of National Biography, founded in 1882 by George
Smith; edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University
Press, 1921-1996.
3.
"Marsden,
Samuel." Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, general editor, A.
Scott Moreau. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000.
4.
Reed, A.
H. Samuel Marsden; Greatheart of the Maori. London: Pickering and Inglis, 1939.
Last
updated July, 2007
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