Missions 1831-1880's : Church of England
c.1831 Thomas Chapman & Archdeacon Henry Williams. [Church
of England] His 1st Visit to this region.
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| Part of an Embroidered Wall Hanging, showing the Chapman family, done by Rotorua Embroider's Guild for the Rotorua Library. |
c.1838 Chapman returns with Mr & Mrs Morgan set up on
Mokoia Island. Mrs Morgan gives birth to
the first European child in the district, sadly he died just months later on 16
October 1838 and is buried on Mokoia Is. She had another son 1 month
prematurely before leaving the island in 1839.
The Morgan’s left Rotorua c.October 1840 after Mrs Morgan
began suffering ill health and it was decided she would be better in Tauranga.
Chapman carries on without the Morgan’s and work gets
underway for a new mission at Te Ngae.
1843 Bishop Selwyn arrives on 31st Oct and
conducted the Confirmation within the bounds of the ‘Diocese of Waiapu’ 55
Maori were confirmed.
Chapman returns to Rotorua in 1843 and Rev. Spencer ....
1843 Rev. Seymour M. Spencer arrived at the Te Ngae Mission
and resides there until 1845 leaving the area due to ongoing unrest between
tribes he moves his family to Kariri at Lake Tarawera where he establishes Te
Mu, and is in residence there until c.1861 He is then posted to Auckland
leaving the whole Maketu-Rotorua area in the care of Ihaia Te Ahu. Spencer returns often but Te Kooti’s
attack on Te Arawa forced the abandonment of Te Mu.
The 1870's passes without a permanent priest or church existing
in the area. Periodically there were visits from various Priests - Marist, Benedictine and Franciscan.
1876 Chapman returns to visit his Mokoia Island mission, only
to die overcome by heat in Hinemoa’ s Pool on 22 Dec 1876. His body was taken
to Maketu to be buried with his first wife who had predeceased him in 1855.
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Bay of Plenty Times, Volume X, Issue 1084, 30 August 1881from Papers Past |
1880-1881 Principal Arawa chiefs are making moves to set
aside a piece of land at Ohinemutu to build a church, it was to be called St
Faith’s. Part of the Muruika Peninsula
is decided on and locals called in Tuhoto to lift the tapu on the area which
was a burial ground for earlier residents of that pa.
Reverend Ihaia Te Ahu is appointed 1st Vicar of
St Faith’s in 1882 and remains until 1889.
St Faith’s is consecrated in 1885. The following postcard shows both the original St Faith's 1885 and the new St Faith's 1914.
Rev. F.H. Spencer (son of Seymour) took up residence there
in 1887 and remains until 1895.
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| Postcard : Overlooking Ohinemutu, circa 1930s. St Faith's Church is visible. Photograph taken by Sydney Charles Smith. PAColl-5932-33 Alexander Turnbull Library. |
Rev. S. Ingle arrived to take the post in 1896 and Ratema Te
Awekotuku is admitted as a deacon. Te Awekotuku serves there until 1902
followed by Walter Tuahangata Fraser until 1905.
Frederick Augustus Bennett
(born Ohinemutu 1871) is ordained as a deacon in 1896, followed by in 1897 as a
priest… takes charge of St Faith’s c.1905-1917 he is ordained as the 1st
Bishop of Aotearoa. Serves until his death in 1950 and is buried under the
sanctuary of ‘his’ church. During his
time the new St Faith’s was built and the older one moved and turned to face
west c1910 it was still used as a Sunday school & church hall until Feb
1936 when it collapsed during a severe gale. The pieces of the old church were
then removed from the site altogether.
Find more information here on the official St Faith's website
Find more information here on the official St Faith's website
