160 YEARS AGO IN GEELONG
(From the pages of the Geelong Chronicle)
MISSION TO THE NEW HEBRIDES
In July 1862, the newspaper announced that a Scottish missionary would give a talk in aid of the mission to the New Hebrides. The New Hebrides was a group of Melanesian islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean – now known as Vanuatu.
“A missionary address will be delivered at the Geelong Mechanics’ Institute, by the Revd J.G. Paton (from Tanna). Native Gods, clubs, spears, arrows, dresses etc. will be shown; after which a collection will be made in aid of the new mission ship. The Chair will be taken at seven o’clock.”
The Reverend John Gibson Paton hailed from Scotland and, in 1858, was appointed as a missionary to the island of Tanna, one of the southern-most islands in the New Hebrides group. Early in 1862, he was forced to flee the island after a civil war broke out on Tanna.
Unable to carry out his mission, he came to Australia to raise funds.
His tales of close encounters with cannibals and his interesting collection of indigenous artefacts won him many admirers. The Geelong lecture was one of 470 meetings, over about 18 months, conducted by Paton across NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. He raised over 5,000 pounds which he used to recruit more missionaries and cover the running costs of a ship to be used for the mission.
He undertook a second mission to the New Hebrides in 1866 – this time on the island of Aniwa, about 15 miles north-east of Tanna. It lasted until 1872 when he left due to illness in the family.
He was a strong opponent of the Melanesian ‘slave trade’. His missionary writings gained him a significant following right around the world. In his late 70s, he toured the United States and Great Britain and spoke at over 800 meetings, raising another 13,000 pounds!
His love of the south Pacific was profound and he continued to visit the New Hebrides whenever he could. He died in Melbourne in 1907, aged 83, and is buried in Boroondara Cemetery, Kew.
This article was provided by the Geelong Historical Society, with additional information from the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6. For inquiries, email admin@geelonghistoricalsociety.org.au or write C/- P.O. Box 7129, Geelong West, 3218.
