An early mission building rediscovered
An important early building associated with the Wesleyan Mission at Waima, in the South Hokianga, has been ‘rediscovered.’
Waikaramihi, the historic church originally associated with the Hokianga mission, has been noted at its ‘new’ home — Tuhirangi Marae — more than 30 years after it was relocated there.
“Built in 1853, the church has been shifted twice in its history,” Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Northland manager Bill Edwards said.
“The church originally served the community at the Waima mission, located up the Taheke River. It was moved closer to the Waima settlement in 1893, before its second relocation to the marae in 1988. We now know that the mission included the church building and school, making the site more complex than what was depicted in early paintings.”
Knowledge of the church’s background came to light at this year’s Te Tiriti o Waitangi celebrations at Mangungu Mission, commemorating the 179th anniversary of the third and largest Treaty signings that took place at the other main Wesleyan mission in the Hokianga, at Horeke.
Descendants of missionary Thomas Skinner, who was stationed at Waima, a settlement that would eventually develop a thriving economy based on farming and forestry, shared information about the church with Heritage New Zealand staff at the event. They also talked about their discovery of a memorial stone celebrating the oak tree that missionary John Warren planted in 1839.
“We were actually in the Hokianga to try to find the grave of Thomas Skinner, who died at the mission in 1866 at the untimely age of 45,” descendant Tricia Rossiter said.
“The family story held that he was buried near the mission oak at Waima, so we went there to look for his grave. However, after prodding and poking in the long kikuyu around the fallen oak, one of the group found a plaque commemorating the tree, along with the date it was planted and acknowledgement of Rev John Warren as ‘the first missionary in Waima’.
“The stone had fallen off its plinth and was completely hidden under dense grass, though the writing was still quite legible.”
Tricia had done her homework before setting out, and was able to refer to an 1844 surveyor’s plan showing a house with a chapel nearby. Other sources included information from the book The History of Methodism in New Zealand, and newspaper clippings from the time, one of which described Waima School as being “under the care of our excellent teacher Mr Skinner”. Tricia’s trip to the Hokianga was the seventh such pilgrimage to mission sites as part of research for a book on Thomas Skinner she is planning to publish next year. The excursions have also provided an opportunity for her to get a feel for the places where Thomas and his wife Hannah lived and worked, and to honour their memories.
They have also enabled her to dispel a few myths.
“The stone proved to be our most exciting find that day,” she said.
“In the following days we came to the conclusion that Thomas is actually buried at Mangungu, and we’ve since consigned the story of a grave by the mission oak at Waima to the growing pile of family fables.”
Mr Edwards said the Waima oak was an enormous tree, widely regarded as the largest in New Zealand. It died some years ago, however, and fell down.
“We know from contemporary press reports that the stone found by Tricia’s team was unveiled in March 1927, making it over 90 years old,” he added.
“It was unveiled by a greatgranddaughter of Rev Warren almost 90 years after the Waima mission was established and the oak planted, and is an important link to the Waima Mission and the history of the area.”
He was delighted that the memorial stone had been found, and that information on the Waima church could now be updated. The recent discovery also highlighted the fact that the full story behind heritage buildings in the community was not always well known.
“The knowledge is often out there, but is often dispersed,” Mr Edwards added.
“Events like the Mangungu Treaty celebrations bring people together, which often results in information being shared on a wide range of things. For people involved with heritage, like us, that information is gold.
“We are working with Heritage Northland Inc on some interpretation signage for the original Waima Mission site that captures this information, and look forward to reading Tricia’s book when it is published.”
Pilgrimage