Show TRAVELS NO thur thursday 9 da V nove november anber elder der i heber C lex jex and I 1 started ou out i on w on a short miss missionary bunny conary trip to thorpe thorp e a europ european fleg i ean lul f town seve seven n rw from rom ashurst leaving elder gard gardner er to proceed by train to p palmerston ath alter J visited our arrival in bunnythorpe bunny thorpe several scandinavian fi milies rei in the vicinity some of whom shown lown considerable interest in the iel 1 and had been kind to the elders in the evening we held a little meet ai the house of of a mr jepsen who about two miles from bunny bunnythorpe thorpe essed d the little congregation in it and spoke with considerable acim m b but utmost most if not all of those tt were unwilling to accept the the ahe old lutheran c teed reed to which 4 adhered being good enough for there are quite a number of in new zealand who beir countrymen in america make mak J settlers but only a few of them i much for religion and those who aire e generally sticklers klers for the creed air forefathers lore fathers after the meeting balked walked dack back to bunnythorpe Bunny thorpe where a B a merchant received an h kindness and kept us over night and d his estimable wife are of f mormonism november elder jex i got an overdose of danish in the th sevag g last night was sick this morn and it was with consia considerable erable dimy that he walked with me the six i to palmerston north but on our ral I 1 there we were made welcome treated with much kindness by sis betle tte katrine together h brother jepsen had waited several as for us but before we came he lo 10 ao leave home to resume his work Sd A distance istance here we also met elder iner ner again who had arrived in arston the day before after being inist estered ered to elder jex felt much sr and was able to resume his jour with us before night he alters Is explained that he be could stand the ri tongue I 1 alone but when it came 9 comb combination of danish and maori the same time he gets more than he conveniently digest not being a man jefry ory great physical powers this in t reminds me of an experience I 1 while trave traveling in in company with tre bit dent ent jesse N smith of the snow stake S t e nearly two years ago bro patt smith insisted that I 1 should do the astas share of the public speaking as we meetings in the different settle bettl e tants avais which I 1 did until brother smith also loiso hoarse that he could scarcely corvese in a tune loud enough to be anta rd how elder smith could get aasi e by listening to my m y preaching has teen b een a puzzle to me and I 1 did labost aft wak danish either Y after a pleasant visit with sister jep who is very hard of hearing but is a 1 j voted devoted ted saint who enjoys the spirit 0 gospel we proceeded by team tp to ie maori village called te abed about two miles south ot of pal n north where we held an interest V tog attle meeting in the evening with we the maori saints who seemed to ampre F alke our visit very much we W e were also aho well taken care of during the night toy by elder benari who presides ow over the branch saturday november aoth elders gardner cardner jex and myself accompanied by henan and two other na te boarded the trait train thelast At athe last named place and traveled three miles southward to pori tua gurte fourteen eti miles from wellington ware we arrived at 1145 a 8 m having enjoyed the sight of the beautiful scenery ball arid landscapes both along the coast and j inland at porirua Pori rua we met elders windam Win fam S dimond and horace W W barton who are laboring in the mana aatu district and we then walked a mile to the native village of ahia which is pleasantly situated on the pori rua bay here there is a lively branch of the church we were made welcome in the house of beera te kanae who presides over the branch and we also met elders james S abbott and john H ellis the other two missionaries who labor in the district the saints at Taka had made splendid preparations lor for the reception of their visitors being well provided with food which they cooked in good style and served in a large tent raised for the purpose adjacent to our quarters there are some fine maoris laoris at this place most of them can speak and understand english and are otherwise above the average of their race in intelligence they belong to a historic and brave branch of the maori people of which they seem to be justly proud and brother beera showed us a genealogical chart which gave his forefathers for thirty six generations back we commenced our first meeting at 3 p m I 1 being among the speakers elders gardner and dimond and a native brother were the speakers in the evening meeting sunday december our coffer conference at ahia was continued and three meetings were held in response to written invitations a number of europeans attended the first two meetings at which the preaching was done in english elder gardner and myself being the speakers we had a good time and the holy ghost gave the servants of the lord utterance we also blessed two children in the evening meeting elders jex ellis and barton and several of the native brethren were the speakers monday december and 1 I commenced my historical labors in good earnest being assisted by elders jex abbott and others of the brethren by way of finishing our conference another meeting was wits held in the evening at which elder gardner and I 1 were the principal speakers the following two days were spent by myself attending to historical work while hile president gardner and the other elders wrote letters and conversed wit with h the saints on the ath wednesday elders jex dimond barton and ellis left porirua to resume their missionary harv labors in other parts of the district the district embraces that part of the north island of new zealand which lies between the west coast and the range of mountains it extends from and includes wellington on the south to and including the Tar anaki country on the north the baptized membership con consists sits of go 90 or souls including children of IN 37 are europeans ro of the five elders irom from zion in the district at the present time three are laboring among the maoris laoris and t two w 0 among the europeans the latter elders jex ex and dimond are having a hard time of it as the white inhabitants ot of that part of the country though quite numerous have no inclination to receive the gospel it is very seldom that the elders can obtain school houses to preach in or indeed any public building without paying a high rent and only a few will open their houses for bor cottage meetings nor do the people as a rule treat the elders with that hospitality which is sometimes characteristic of peo pie who live in a new and sparsely settled country they usually have to pay for their board and lodging while the two elders laboring among the europeans generally travel on foot or by train the three among the maoris laoris travel on hot horseback the Waira rapa district consists of four br branches arches of which three consists of Ma maori oriand and oneff one of european members 1 the latter is called the palmerston branch and consists of the saints residing in palmerston north and at ashurst and fairy glen near fielding most of the members were baptized in other parts ot of new zealand but located at different times in the country where elder eldee ben goddard on december nth 1892 organized them into a branch of the church with robert armstrong who was already an elder as president A series of meetings were held in the theatre at palmerston north at which there was a good attendance of people who seemed interested in the principles advocated by elders william T stewart and ben goddard but none so far have yielded obedience to them A sunday school which still holds regular sessions was organized at palmerston north on july ath 1893 the ahia branch also frequently called the porirua branch consists of the native saints residing residing in the native village of ahia witch which lies adjacent to the european town of fori rua which is fourteen miles north of wellington the branch was organized by elders john W and david muir september soab 1888 with hozepa Ho romona as president it is still the test best branch in the district the branch consists of the maori saints residing in a scattered condition near palmerston north the bulk of them however lives at Awa puni a little village situated two miles southwest ot of palmerston north on the foxton foxtow railway some also live at tau rau and Puke tatara the branch was v organized may lath 1885 but has seen many ups and downs and changes since that time the third maori branch of the mana aatu district is is called the branch and consists of saints residing in a i village of df that name I 1 situated about four miles northwest of levin railway station fifty nine miles noath north of wellington or thirty miles south ot of palmerston north the branch was first organized august loth 1890 by elders joseph N cewood hey wood and joseph S groesbeck but can hardly be said to exist at the present as most of the former members have left the church and others moved away to other parts of the country thursday december eth elder gardner and myself bid farewell to the good saints of ahia or porirua Pori rua and also elder james S abbott the president of the district who accompanied compa nied us to the railway station and traveled fourteen miles by rail through a hil y country to wellington the capital of new zealand where we spent the remainder remaina er of the day attending to business connected with the transportation of our elders and we also spent some time in the museum and the public library W wellington ilin ton the capital or empire city I 1 0 of new zealand and the seat of government of the colony is situated at the head of port nicholson a fine bar bor circular in form and one of the safest and most commodious in new zealand wellington is hemmed by surrounding hills which has necessitated large areas of land being reclaimed from the harbor or bay on parts of which some of the finest buildings are erected most of the fine residences are perched on the hill sides which gives the city a very picturesque appearance as one approaches it from the sea at the thorndon Tho end of the city is the residence of the governor of the colony a handsome building of the italian style of architecture adjoining are the houses of parliament and nearer the business part of the city are the general government buildings which enjoy the distinction of being the largest wooden structures in the world elder gardner and I 1 went all through these buildings which are full of government offices and ana the deposit depository oty of the most valuable bookstand books book sand and documents how the gov of new zealand can feet feel at af ease with the government documents in a wooden building is more than I 1 can c comprehend even the parliament library liy ity y which hc is s the largest and best in the colony is arranged in a large building of wood there are a number of interesting te places around wellington one of f which is mount victoria on which is located the naval signal station from its top a full view of the harbor entrance the strait and the open sea be beyond ond is obtained immediately behind wellington lies the suburban town of kamore where the first branch of the church of jesus christ ot of latter day saints in new zealand was organized the actual settlement of wellington began in 1839 in which year the ship tory arrived from england having sailed from froin plymouth may irth 1839 it arrived at port nicholson september irth 1839 two native chiefs ekuni and went abroad and offered to dispose of the harbor and lands adjacent several days were spent in discussing conditions and on the 25 th these were agreed upon and the deed was signed the day following it is re that the principal goods given by the englishmen for the site of wellington and the harbor were stands of arms 21 kegs of 0 gun powder a cask of ball cartridges a gross of jews harps 1200 1200 fishing hooks books and some night caps pipes and sealing wax on the aoth of september 1839 the new zealand flag was hoisted on shore and aboard the tory the town was first named britan nia but in november 1840 this name was dropped in favor of wellington in compliment it is stated to the great duke ot of that name among the vessels following the tory were the cuba aurora and oriental all bringing more settlers and several of Welling tons streets were named after these vessels and others in honorof honor of some of the first settlers the population of port nicholson the name of the harbor in 1840 Is is estimated as about 1 1300 europeans and soo natives wellington was first declared a borough august ath 1842 by governor william hobson who also declared that the place had about 2000 inhabitants but the town government only lasted for a short time in 1863 the next attempt at local municipal govern went ment was made and a regular town board appointed p hinted in 1864 it was made the capital ot of the colony it succeed ed auckland in that distinction being more centrally Cep trally located than ita rival city of the north wellington was again made a corporation by what is called the municipal corporations act of 1867 the population of wellington was estimated at in 1871 this bad increased to in 1881 and to in 1891 now wellington claims a population of ANDREW JENSON DUNEDIN new zealand dec 9 1895 |