IN 1949 THE ANGLICAN CHURCH published a little book entitled Pacific Progress 1849 -1949, “the illustrated centenary book of the Diocese of Melanesia”.

In the Foreword, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, wrote from Lambeth Palace:

"The Church in Melanesia began, continued and ended its first one hundred years with martyrdoms.

"In its beginning was the martyrdom of Bishop Patteson by those to whom he came with the Gospel of Christ. At its close the martyrs were missionary priests of the Church for which Bishop Patteson had given his life.

"This book makes evident how deeply the Church has entered into the life of the Melanesians bringing to it the healing, liberating and creative force of Christ's redemption. Now come fresh problems and fresh opportunities for this generation to meet in the same faith which inspired those who have gone before."

When George Augustus Selwyn was consecrated as First Bishop of New Zealand in 1841, his jurisdiction extended at its northern limit to 34 degrees north of the equator, and so included not only the whole of New Zealand but also the islands now known as Melanesia.

So on 1 August 1849, the small schooner Undine with a crew of four, “glided quietly from Auckland harbour bearing Bishop Selwyn towards the untamed and uncharted islands of the Pacific.”

In this short voyage the Bishop established contact with many islands and initiated the policy followed for many years. He brought back five ‘native boys’ to be educated in New Zealand, the forerunners of the native teachers and clergy of Melanesia.

There were subsequent visits, sometimes in the face of serious opposition, and in 1854 Selwyn returned to London to urge that the growing importance of the work in the islands. In fact, he demanded it be developed as a separate See.

His influence in England was magnetic: he was able to secure approval for the new See, £10,000 was raised for its endowment, and the first Southern Cross was built for the work by enthusiastic subscribers. To this purpose Miss Charlotte M Yonge devoted the profits of her widely read book The Daisy Chain.

It took until 1861 for Bishop Selwyn's hopes and prayers to bear fruit, when John Coleridge Patteson was nominated as First Bishop of the Diocese of Melanesia.

To most people the islands of the Pacific were places of mystery, dread, and yet of enchantment. The few who visited them found them as varied as their inhabitants. In one place were storm-girt mountainous jungle-covered masses, in another were peaceful coral atolls in waters of incredible blues and greens. In still another place a maze of uncharted reefs belied the calm beauty of the peaceful waters.

The islanders themselves varied from the dark uncouth Melanesian type of the New Hebrides to the handsome light-skinned Polynesians of some of the northern islands, At times gay and childlike, but more often victims of fear and suspicion, every other person was for them a potential enemy, and cruelty and treachery had become instinctive.

Head hunting and cannibalism were frequent. Ignorance and disease enslaved mind and body alike, yet such religion as these people possessed was woven closely into the fabric of daily life.

Bishop Selwyn had realised from the start that Melanesians themselves must be the chief missionaries to their own people (he likened the future church in Melanesia to "a black fishing net supported by white corks "). To this end, his main policy was to take young Melanesian men to New Zealand to train as the future priests and teachers.

And so the work of the Anglican Church in Melanesia began.

Visit the website here to find this venerable history and some wonderful period photographs.   Spotter: Paul Oates