Octavius Hadfield | |
|---|---|
| Primate Bishop of New Zealand | |
 | |
| Predecessor | Henry Harper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Octavius Hadfield 6 October 1814 Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, England |
| Died | 11 December 1904 (aged 90) Edale, near Marton, New Zealand |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Spouse | Catherine (Kate) Williams |
Octavius Hadfield (6 October 1814 – 11 December 1904) was Archdeacon of Kāpiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893.[1][2] He was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) for thirty years. He was recognised as an authority on Māori customs and language. His views on Māori rights, expressed in several books strongly criticised the actions of the New Zealand Government. Hadfield married Catherine (Kate) Williams (24 February 1831 – 8 January 1902) a daughter of the Rev. Henry Williams and Marianne Williams.
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Rangiātea church, Ōtaki - Roadside Stories
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Transcription
[1950s archival audio] Reverend Father in God, we the church warders of Rangiātea, on behalf of the parishioners, and all the Māori people present, greet you, and the Bishop of Aotearoa, His Excellency the Governor-General, and all our Pākehā brethren. We desire that you, my Lord Bishop, offer thanksgiving for the church of Rangiātea, built 100 years ago by our forefathers. [Narrator] In the town of Ōtaki stands a splendid replica of the historic Rangiātea church. The original church was destroyed by fire in 1995. This act of arson saw New Zealand lose one of its most beautiful buildings. Completed in 1851, the Rangiātea church embodied the aspirations of both European and Māori to live peacefully in a district torn apart by tension. Rangiātea will always be associated with two men: the great Ngāti Toa chief, Te Rauparaha, and the missionary, Octavius Hadfield. During the 1820s and '30s, Te Rauparaha became well known as his Ngāti Toa tribe conquered much of central New Zealand. However, from 1839, Te Rauparaha looked for more peaceful ways to advance his people's interests. In the same year, the young Anglican missionary Octavius Hadfield arrived at Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast. By 1843, Hadfield and many Māori whom he had converted had built a big church at Waikanae. However, 'Hadfield's Church', as it was known, did not last long. Within a few years, windblown sand had buried much of it, and many of Hadfield's Māori converts left to return north to their ancestral homelands in Taranaki. Ōtaki now succeeded Waikanae as the centre of activity. Hadfield moved there and worked amongst the local Ngāti Raukawa iwi, the tribe of Te Rauparaha's mother. But it was as a great fighting chief of Ngāti Toa that Te Rauparaha attracted the attention of Governor Grey, who feared the chief would oppose the spread of European settlement in the Wellington region. In 1846, Grey captured Te Rauparaha and held him prisoner for 18 months without trial. On his release at Ōtaki in 1848, Te Rauparaha thrust his sword into the sand and stated his vision for the future: [Te Rauparaha -- actor's voice] Come, take this weapon! I no longer survey the land, I shall survey the heavens. Build a church for us all. [Narrator] Te Rauparaha's vision matched that of Octavius Hadfield, and together they built the church. Hadfield provided the broad design based on his earlier Waikanae Church, while Te Rauparaha and the Ngāti Raukawa people supplied the materials and labour. Three great tōtara logs, symbolising the holy trinity, were given by the Ngāti Tūkorehe tribe from Ohau, to the north of Ōtaki. These became the centrepieces of the church's structure. Another neighbouring tribe, Ngāti Wehiwehi, donated a handful of sacred soil from the ancestral Pacific Island of Rangiātea, the name given to the church. Soon after construction began, ill health forced Hadfield to leave Ōtaki. His successor, Archdeacon Sam Williams, oversaw the church's completion, including resolving a dispute over the length of the ridgetop roof beam by stealthily reducing its length with a saw one night. The exterior of Rangiātea resembled many Anglican churches -- austere and largely devoid of embellishment. However, on the inside, Rangiātea resembled an ornate wharenui, or Māori meeting house. The ceiling was decorated with kowhaiwhai, or traditional Māori rafter patterns, and the walls with tukutuku -- decorative wall panels. The standard church fittings such as altar, communion rail and pulpit were ornately carved. This, perhaps the finest Māori church in the country, displayed the best of both Maori and European design and style. News of Rangiātea's destruction by fire in the early hours of 6 October 1995 shocked the nation. It was some time before the arsonist was eventually imprisoned. But within weeks of the fire, plans were made to rebuild a replica of Rangiātea. By 2003, the new church had been completed.
Background
He was born into an affluent family but often had very poor health and nearly died on several occasions. He received an excellent university education but did not finish his degree due to ill health. As a member of a wealthy family he was able to tour though Europe. Normally, lack of a degree would have prevented him being ordained but he was able to secure a position in New Zealand.
Church ministry
He joined the CMS in October 1837. Hadfield was admitted to deacon's orders in September 1838 in Sydney by Bishop Broughton, bishop of Australia.[3]
He was very friendly with Samuel Marsden but did not share his views on high church Anglicanism. The CMS missionaries held the low church beliefs that were common among the 19th century Evangelical members of the Anglican Church.[4][5]
Church Missionary Society
In December 1838 Hadfield arrived in the Bay of Islands, in M.S. Pelorus, travelling with Bishop Broughton, who was making a pastoral visit to the native church established by the CMS among the Māori.[6] On 6 January 1839 he became the first priest to be ordained in New Zealand.[3] Hadfield was stationed at Paihia in the Bay of Islands.
Following a request by Tāmihana Te Rauparaha and Mātene Te Whiwhi for a missionary in their area, Hadfield travelled with Henry Williams to establish an CMS mission on the Kāpiti Coast in November 1839.[7] Riwai Te Ahu, who later became an Anglican minister, was baptised by Hadfield at the Waikanae Mission in 1840.[3][2] Pineaha Te Mahauariki, who also became an Anglican minister, was baptised by Hadfield in 1842.[8] In December 1843 Bishop Selwyn, the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, attended Ōtaki to confirm a young chief and 142 of his followers.[9]
Bishop Selwyn appointed him rural dean of the Western District of Wellington and Taranaki in 1844 and as archdeacon of Kapiti in March 1849.[3]
Relations with the Māori
During his early years he travelled throughout the Wellington region that had been conquered by numerous Taranaki tribes. He became close friends with the Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha who had led the invasion of the wider Wellington region during the long running Musket Wars. It was Te Rauparaha's Christian son Tāmihana who had invited him to the Māori community to live. Hadfield buried Te Rauparaha in 1849 after his release from imprisonment.
Te Āti Awa built the first church within the Waikanae pā which inspired other churches, including Rangiātea, built by Ngāti Raukawa in Ōtaki during 1848-1851.[10]
He became part of the Ōtaki Ngāti Raukawa community where he made every effort to learn Māori language and customs and shared these with governor George Grey. They went to the same church. He lived in the community for 30 years, established 20 mission schools and became well integrated into the Māori community. In 1852 he published a spelling book for Māori children. Later he became increasingly intolerant and dogmatic in his views as he clashed with the government. He lived in an age when the early influence of missionaries had declined.[3][11]
Aftermath of the Wairau Affray
Following the Wairau Affray in 1843, where a confrontation between Te Rauparaha and group of settlers left twenty-two Europeans dead, many settlers believed an attack on then thinly populated Wellington was possible and Hadfield was seen as a peacemaker preventing the spread of hostilities.
Hadfield's support of Wiremu Kīngi's claim to Waitara
Hadfield became far less popular when in 1860, Hadfield upheld Wiremu Kīngi's claim to the Waitara block.[12] The surveying of this land prior to military occupation precipitated the First Taranaki War, and Hadfield became a leading critic of the Government in these actions. He "was for some time the most unpopular man in the colony".[13] He was described in the press at the time as "a traitor and a bigoted meddlesome missionary".[1]
Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington
In 1877 Wiremu Parata took Hadfield and the Church to court over a gift of land which was not used for a school as intended; the far-reaching case Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington was lost when the Treaty of Waitangi was ruled a simple nullity.
Publications
- A discourse delivered at St. Peter's Church, Te Aro by Octavius Hadfield (Wellington, (N.Z.) : Robert Stokes, 1851)
- Hadfield, Octavius (1860). "One of England's little wars : a letter to the Right Hon. the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State for the Colonies". London : Williams & Norgate, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- Hadfield, Octavius (1861). "A sequel to "One of England's little wars:" being an account of the real origin of the war in New Zealand, its present stage, and the future prospects of the colony". London : Williams & Norgate, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- Hadfield, Octavius (1861). "The New Zealand War; the second year of one of England's little wars". London : Williams & Norgate, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- A reply to the question, Is a miracle opposed to reason? by Octavius Hadfield (Wellington (N.Z.) : Lyon and Blair, 1875)
- Hadfield, Octavius (1902). "Maoris of by-gone days". London : J.H. Shears, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Octavius Hadfield – Bishop". Anglican Church of New Zealand. 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Starke, June. "Octavius Hadfield". Te Ara. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ Williams, William (1974). The Turanga journals, 1840–1850. F. Porter (Ed) Wellington. p. 37.
- ^ Williams, William (1974). The Turanga journals, 1840–1850. F. Porter (Ed). pp. 239–241.
- ^ Carleton, Hugh (1874). "Vol. I". The Life of Henry Williams. Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. p. 210.
- ^ "The Church Missionary Gleaner, March 1842". Remarkable Introduction and Rapid Extension of the Gospel in the Neighbourhood of Cook's Straits. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ^ Hadfield, Octavius (1902). Maoris of by-gone days: Rev. Pineaha Te Mahauariki. London : J.H. Shears, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. pp. 23–24.
- ^ "The Church Missionary Gleaner, January 1860". Otaki, New Zealand. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ Hadfield, Octavius (1902). Maoris of by-gone days: Otaki Church. London : J.H. Shears, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. pp. 19–20.
- ^ O. Hadfield and the Growth of the Gospel in Central NZ.Bruce Patrick.
- ^ Starke, June (8 November 2017). "Octavius Hadfield - Biography". Ministry for Culture and Heritage” New Zealand History. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- ^ Starke, June. "Octavius Hadfield - Biography". Te Ara. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
External links
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Octavius Hadfield
- "Photographic portrait: Octavius Hadfield (circa 1814-1904), Bishop of Wellington". National Portrait gallery (UK). Retrieved 13 March 2017.
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This page was last edited on 19 December 2023, at 03:10