The missionary concern of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand has always been an important aspect of its life. In the matter of missionary work among the Maori people the Presbyterian Church was late in the field, and when it did begin, its activities coincided with a difficult period in Maori-Pakeha relations. The first Presbyterian missionary to the Maoris was the Rev. James Duncan, a minister of the Reformed Church of Scotland. In 1843 he began work in the Manawatu district but, while he laboured faithfully, no results of his work remain in the form of stable Maori congregations. Constructive work began with the appointment of H. J. Fletcher to the Taupo district in 1889, followed by the opening of further work in the Urewera and King Country. In 1905 the Turakina Maori Girls' School was established, the first of a number of schools and hostels which the Presbyterian Church has established for the welfare of the Maori people. Outstanding Presbyterian workers among the Maoris have been the Very Rev. J. G. Laughton and a number of dedicated women. Significant developments in recent years in Maori work have been the constitution in 1952 of the Maori Synod, the establishment at Whakatane of a Maori Theological College, and the extension of work to city areas where large numbers of Maoris are now living.

The New Hebrides was the first overseas mission field of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. In 1868 the Rev. William Watt went to the islands as the representative of the Northern Church and in 1869 the Rev. Peter Milne followed as the representative of the Southern Church. The mission has developed into the self-governing Presbyterian Church of the New Hebrides.

The second field was in South China (Canton Villages). The work in this field grew out of the contacts made by the Rev. Alexander Don with Chinese gold diggers in Central Otago. Don's friendly ministrations resulted in the opening of the closed villages of Canton to the Rev. George McNeur, the first of a notable band of missionaries who represented the New Zealand Church in South China for well-nigh half a century until the tides of communism made it necessary for them, in the interests of the Chinese Church, to withdraw. A few of the South China missionaries continued to serve in the British colony of Hong Kong.

The third field was opened in the Punjab, India, in 1909, when Dr W. J. Porteous began medical work in Jagadhri. This mission, which includes evangelistic and educational activities as well as medical, is now part of the United Church of North India.

Further extension of the missionary outreach of the New Zealand Church occurred in 1957 when the General Assembly decided to assist the Church of West Java by providing two missionaries (a minister and a doctor) and in 1959 when a decision was made to cooperate with the London Missionary Society in Papua (New Guinea).

In 1861 the first step towards the consolidation of Presbyterianism throughout New Zealand was taken by Auckland presbytery when the Rev. David Bruce was instructed to write to the other presbyteries and to the “scattered brethren” suggesting that a conference be held with a view to forming a church which would embrace all New Zealand. The presbytery of Otago agreed and the result was a Unity Conference in Dunedin in November 1861. This conference agreed on a basis of union for submission to a convocation of the Church to be held in Auckland in 1862. The convocation was duly held and, after making some alterations to the basis of union, it constituted itself the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. But the presbytery of Otago refused to recognise the union and in 1866 the Synod of Otago and Southland (Southern Church) was constituted. The failure of the union movement of the sixties meant that the union of the Northern and Southern Churches was postponed until 1901 when, under the leadership of Dr James Gibb, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was brought into being. Since the union, the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand has grown in influence and in membership. A feature of this growth has been rapid development in the North Island but much slower growth in the South. One result of the change in population balance has been that the median line of Presbyterianism in New Zealand has moved progressively northwards.

The 1964 Assembly statistics give the following figures concerning the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand:

• 24 presbyteries (the Maori synod having presbyterial powers).

• 446 parishes.

• 806 church buildings.

• 566,174 persons under pastoral care.

• 90,542 communicants.

• 73,695 Sunday school scholars.

• 20,427 Bible class members.

• A gross revenue of £1,639,056.

The period between 1860 and 1890 in the North Island was a time of slow progress due largely to Maori troubles and bad communications. During these years the Church followed the settlers into the developing farm districts of the Waikato and Taranaki, at the same time endeavouring to keep pace with growing urban populations.

In 1862 the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church north of the Waitaki (the Northern Church) was constituted. In the South Island in Canterbury the Church continued to extend, particularly in South Canterbury where the Rev. George Barclay gave leadership both in church and in public life. In Otago, 1860 to 1890 were the years of the gold rushes with a resulting increase in population and consequent strain on all the resources of the Church. New parishes were established on the goldfields and in the developing rural areas of Clutha, Mataura, North Otago, and Southland, the pioneer of Church extension being the Rev. D. M. Stuart, the first minister of Knox Church, Dunedin.

The history of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand began with the arrival at Port Nicholson, Wellington, on 20 February 1840, of the Rev. John Macfarlane of the Established Church of Scotland. Macfarlane officiated at the opening of the first Scots Church (now St. Andrew's) in New Zealand on Sunday, 7 January 1844. When the effects of the disruption of the Scottish Church (1843) began to be felt in the Antipodes, a petition was drawn up in 1851 by a group of Scots in Wellington and forwarded to the Free Church of Scotland asking that an ordained minister of that church be secured. The prayer of the petition was granted and in 1853 the Rev. John Moir arrived in Wellington to be the minister of the second Presbyterian Church (now St. John's).

In the South Island the history of the Presbyterian Church began with the Scottish Free Church Lay Association which played an important part in the founding of the Otago settlement. The religious interest of the forties, stimulated by the disruption crisis, gave its inspiration to the colonising project, the lay body working closely in conjunction with the Church to bring it to fruition. Together they transplanted to the new land a branch of the Free Church of Scotland along with its rich social and cultural soil. In November 1847 two ships – the Philip Laing and the John Wickliffe – set sail for New Zealand with the first group of Free Church settlers. The “Moses” of the settlers was Captain William Cargill and the “Aaron” the Rev. Thomas Burns, a nephew of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet. With them there also came a schoolmaster, James Blackie. The manner in which the Free Church settlers, right from the inception of the Otago settlement, made provision for church and school indicated how deeply imbued they were with the ideals of religion and education.

In Auckland the first Presbyterian service was held in 1842, but it was the Scottish disruption that stimulated the Presbyterians settled there to form a congregation and to request Dr Thomas Chalmers, the leader of the Free Church, to select for them a minister. The outcome was the sending out of the Rev. G. A. Panton and the opening of St. Andrew's Church in 1849. Panton's ministry was very brief and he was succeeded by the Rev. David Bruce who became a leader in church extension work throughout the North Island.

In 1851 a group of Gaelic-speaking Highlanders under the leadership of a 74-year-old patriarch, the Rev. Norman McLeod, came to New Zealand in ships built with their own hands after a sojourn in Nova Scotia, and settled at Waipu in Northland. The descendants of these settlers have played an important part in the upbuilding of the Presbyterian Church in the northern part of New Zealand.

Organised Presbyterian work in Hawke's Bay began in 1859 with the founding of St. Paul's Church, Napier, under the ministry of the Rev. Peter Barclay, and in 1860 in Taranaki with the settlement in New Plymouth of the Rev. John Thom.

Among the first settlers in Canterbury were five Scottish families, but it was not until 1854 that the Presbyterians there requested the Colonial Committee of the Free Church of Scotland to secure a minister for them. In response to this request the Rev. Charles Fraser came in 1857 as the first minister of St. Andrew's Church, Christchurch.

The Presbyterian settlers of Nelson were at first ministered to by the Rev. John Macfarlane, but in 1849 the Rev. T. D. Nicholson came to be the first minister of Trinity Church, Nelson. In 1857 Nicholson moved into Marlborough and was instrumental in erecting a church at Renwicktown, the first church of any denomination in the district.

The founding of the Presbyterian Church on the romantic West Coast was assisted by the visits of the Rev. Charles Fraser, of Christchurch, who prepared the way for the settlement at Hokitika in 1867 of the Rev. John Gow.

South of the Waitaki, with the steady extension of settlement, it was realised that the Rev. Thomas Burns could not carry the burden of ministering to the Otago settlers alone. In 1854 the Rev. William Will and the Rev. William Bannerman arrived in Otago to assist him and so made possible the constitution of the presbytery of Otago, the first presbytery in New Zealand.

Southland was part of the parish of the Rev. William Bannerman until 1860, when the Rev. A. H. Stobo was settled in Invercargill as the first minister of First Church.

(1826–1921).

Judge and Administrator, Attorney-General, Chief Justice of New Zealand.

A new biography of Prendergast, James appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

James Prendergast was the third son of Michael Prendergast, Q.C., Recorder of Norwich, Judge of the Sheriff's Court of the City of London, and a Commissioner of the Central Criminal Court. His mother was Caroline, the sister of a well-known Academy artist of his day, George Dawe, R.A. Young Prendergast, who was born in London in 1826, was not immediately attracted to the law while at Cambridge. After attending St. Paul's School, London, he went up to Gonville and Caius where he graduated B.A. in 1849. After a brief interlude of schoolmastering in Somersetshire, he emigrated to Victoria and met with some success at the Eureka Diggings, Ballarat. But the gold fever in him died, and he moved to Melbourne where his lawyer brother found him a post as a clerk of petty sessions. After 18 months he returned to England and in 1856 began to read law, being called to the Inner Temple late in the same year. For some years he practised in England as a special pleader, but in 1862 he set off across the world again in the ship Chile, bound for Otago.

On being admitted to the New Zealand Bar, he began practice in Dunedin, his first brief coming from Julius Vogel who, 13 years later, as Sir Julius Vogel, Premier of the Colony, was to appoint him Chief Justice. The brief was an attachment against the Otago Daily Times for alleged contempt. Prendergast won the suit and was warmly commended by Mr Justice H. B. Gresson for his handling of it. This success laid the foundation of the reputation he later enjoyed as a safe verdict-getter. As senior partner in the firm of Prendergast, Kenyon, and Maddock, his fame as a pleader stood high, and by the unanimous voice of the profession in Dunedin he had the preference in legal arguments in banco. At nisi prius he was handicapped by a too lawyer-like technique, but in banco and Court of Appeal work he was regarded as practically invincible.

His work as Crown Solicitor for Otago in 1865 brought him to the notice of the Central Government, and he was invited by Henry Sewell to join the Legislative Council with the post of Solicitor-General in the Weld Administration; but before Prendergast could take the oaths of office Weld resigned and was succeeded by Stafford. The new Premier went one better and made Prendergast Attorney-General, an office which under the Attorney-Generals Act of 1866 was vested with life tenure. Prendergast was sworn in under the new enactment and filled the position for eight years, during which time he began the consolidation of the criminal law, putting through no fewer than 94 Acts to that end. In 1875, after the resignation of Sir George Arney, Prendergast became Chief Justice and held the office for 24 years (1875–99).

There have been better Chief Justices than Sir James Prendergast, but he brought to the Judiciary a forthrightness and disciplinarian attitude at a time when the Bar badly needed guidance and direction. Scorning any attempt at well-rounded periods, or even figures of speech for display, he went straight to the point, frequently to the degree of bluntness. His vigorous personality was reflected in many uncompromising judgments and opinions which, whether right or wrong, were always interesting. It was said of him that on the principle that thirsty men want beer, not explanations, he was concerned primarily with reaching a decision, and only secondarily with the mechanics of elaborating it. But at the same time he was slow, safe, careful, and cautious, despite surprising slips and misunderstandings, and he made a valuable contribution to the New Zealand law as a member of the Commission which changed common-law procedure to the present-day system.

Sir James Prendergast was knighted in 1881. In 1899, at the age of 73, he resigned his judicial commission and devoted his energies to business and farming pursuits, which latter he had begun in 1871 as the owner of the extensive Tiritea Estate at Fitzherbert and Bunnythorpe. In his role as a landowner, he played a prominent part in the establishment of the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association, of which he was the first president. In business his interests were banking, insurance, and investment. He died at Wellington on 27 February 1921, aged 94.

In 1848, at Cambridge, England, Prendergast married Mary Hall. Lady Prendergast predeceased her husband; there were no children.

by Ronald Jones, Journalist and Script Writer, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, Wellington.

• Colonial Law Journal, 1876
• Evening Post, 28 Feb 1921 (Obit).

The Order of Precedence at State functions in New Zealand is fixed by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Governor-General. It is followed at all State functions, and is observed by civic and local authorities and by the Diplomatic Corps. Private citizens should also refer to the Order when inviting any of the officials or dignitaries on the list to a function of a public character. Minor variations so as to accord a more appropriate precedence on a particular State occasion may sometimes be made by the Prime Minister, and the Order is also varied in the case of civic functions, when the mayor or chairman of the local body, as chief citizen and host, takes his place at the head of the list.

Changes are not frequently or lightly made to the permanent Order. In 1947 the three Chiefs of Staff were raised above other public servants, and this was the first change for something over 50 years. Since then certain diplomatic missions in New Zealand have been raised to Embassy status. Ambassadors, together with High Commissioners for Her Majesty's Governments in other parts of the Commonwealth, have been raised above other diplomats.

The Order in New Zealand follows the commonly accepted pattern, though giving less prominence to Church dignitaries, to the Chief Justice, and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. On the other hand, members of the Executive Council and the Diplomatic Corps occupy relatively higher places. The present list, which was adopted in May 1956, is as follows:

1. His Excellency the Governor-General, or (whilst acting in place of the Governor-General) the Deputy of the Governor-General or the Officer Administering the Government.

2. The Prime Minister.

3. Members of the Executive Council other than the Prime Minister.

4. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in New Zealand for Her Majesty's Governments elsewhere, according to date of presentation of Letters of Credence or of assumption of duty.

5. Foreign Ministers and Envoys.^*

6. Privy Councillors.

7. The Chief Justice.

8. The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

9. Puisne Judges.

10. Members of the House of Representatives.

11. Former members of the Executive Council entitled to retain the title “Honourable”.

12. Knights of the various Orders and Knights Bachelor, according to the precedence in the United Kingdom.

13. Bishops and Heads of New Zealand religious bodies (courtesy).

14. The Mayor of Auckland, Wellington, Christ-church, or Dunedin, while in his own city (courtesy).

15. The Chief of the General Staff; the Chief of the Naval Staff; the Chief of the Air Staff (or, in the absence from New Zealand, their deputies) according to date of appointment.

16. The Chairman, State Services Commission; the Solicitor-General; the Controller and Auditor-General; Permanent Heads of Civil Departments of State; the Clerk of the Executive Council; the Clerk of the House of Representatives and Clerk of Parliaments.

17. Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation.

*Chargés d'Affaires will be given precedence immediately after the Foreign Ministers and Envoys.

by Charles Philip Littlejohn, LL.B., Clerk of the Journals and Records, House of Representatives, Wellington.

(Orthodera ministralis).

New Zealand has only one species of mantid, an Australian insect which established itself in New Zealand soon after the beginning of European colonisation. It is a very common member of the insect fauna of urban areas but also occurs in most other areas. It is a green insect about 1½ in. long, with large wings folded flat over the abdomen. The forelegs are remarkably well developed for grasping prey. Food consists of other insects and small arthropods, and the name of praying mantid is applied to the insect because of the habit of holding the grasping forelegs in a pious attitude while waiting for prey. Eggs are laid in a mass arranged in a definite pattern of rows and glued together on to branches of trees, fence posts, and other objects.

by Roy Alexander Harrison, D.SC., Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

(1797–1879).

Commander of the British forces in New Zealand.

A new biography of Pratt, Thomas Simson appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Thomas Simson Pratt was born in 1797, the son of Captain James Pratt and Anne, née Simson. Educated at St. Andrews University, Scotland, he was commissioned on 2 February 1814 as an ensign in the 37th Regiment. In the same year he served in the Holland campaign as a volunteer with the 56th Regiment and was present at the bombardment of Antwerp. He received his lieutenancy in 1820; captaincy, 1825; majority, 1835; and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1841. On the China Expedition of that year he served with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment and commanded the land forces at the assault on Fort Chuenpee and, also, against the Bogue Forts. He led the 26th for the remainder of the campaign, being present at Canton, Shanghai, the demonstration before Nanking, and the signing of the Peace Treaty on HMS Cornwallis. For his services during this campaign, Pratt was created C.B. From 1843 to 1855 Pratt was deputy adjutant-general at Madras and, from 1856 to 1861, commander of the British forces in Australia. On 3 August 1860, following the outbreak of war over the Waitara Purchase, Pratt arrived in New Zealand to conduct the campaign. He quickly reorganised the defences of New Plymouth and conducted the ensuing operations against the insurgents. On 19 March 1861, following the intervention of Wiremu Tamihana in the dispute and the New Zealand Government's agreement to investigate the Waitara Purchase, hostilities ceased. Shortly after this Pratt returned to Australia as commander of the forces in Victoria until May 1862 when he was appointed Colonel of the 37th Foot Regiment, a position he held until October 1877. He then retired from active service. In 1861 Pratt was created K.C.B. for his services in New Zealand. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general on 31 May 1865, and became a full general eight years later.

While he was in New Zealand Pratt refused to allow the Governor and ministers to interfere in military affairs and his relations with Gore Browne quickly deteriorated. He realised the doubtful validity of the Waitara Purchase and refused to suspend hostilities in Taranaki until the Governor agreed to investigate the whole question. That the Home Government shared his views was shown a few months later when Pratt was created K.C.B. specifically for his services in New Zealand. Although the settlers ridiculed his military operations in Taranaki, Sir Thomas Pratt was an experienced campaigner and an able military commander.

In 1827 Pratt married Agnes, second daughter of John S. Cooper. He died in England on 2 February 1879.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• Hart's Army List, 1873
• The Times (London), 6 Feb 1879 (Obit).

(1905-).

Ombudsman.

A new biography of Powles, Guy Richardson appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Guy Richardson Powles was born at Te Horo on 5 April 1905, son of Colonel C. G. Powles. He was educated at Wellington College and Victoria University College, graduating LL.B. in 1928.

From 1927 to 1940 he practised as a barrister and solicitor in Wellington, but during the Second World War he held several Army posts, including Director of Staff of the Staff College; he was also with the artillery unit of 3 Division in the Pacific. From 1946 to 1948 he was Counsellor at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, after which he held the position of High Commissioner of Western Samoa from 1949 to 1960. In the latter year he became High Commissioner for New Zealand in India. In 1962 he was appointed Ombudsman, a newly formed office of Government. Always a student of world affairs, he was secretary from 1931 to 1940, and president in 1945, of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. In 1938 he published Contemporary New Zealand. He was knighted in 1961.

In 1962 it was estimated that the Electricity Department would spend £100 million for capital works in the following five years. The Department is paying 41½ per cent interest on loan money and provides for loan redemption and depreciation. In terms of the State Supply of Electricity Amendment Act of 1957 provision is made for a contribution from revenue towards financing capital works and the Electric Supply Account is exempt from taxation. The Department is a trading Department so that the cost of operation is not borne by the taxpayer. In 1964 a balance of revenue of more than £4 million was placed in the Reserve Fund to be available for capital works. Some idea of what will be required for the next decade to meet the cost of capital works was shown in the report of the Planning Committee on Electric Power Development which was submitted to Parliament in July 1964. Apart from an endorsement of major works which appeared in the 1963 programme, the committee listed a number of new works which would have to be constructed if the anticipated demand for electricity were to be met. Among such proposals, which in all would amount to £483,000,000, was the development of the Tongariro scheme, involving the construction of power stations at Rangipo and at Kaimanawa.

How natural gas will be used as it becomes available will affect future schemes. In 1963 the Government set up an Electricity Advisory Council, responsible to the Minister of Electricity, to deal with problems peculiar to the electrical supply industry and to ensure continuity of policy for power generation and distribution. As yet no action has been taken regarding setting up a Ministry of Fuel and Power to coordinate the application and use of the various power resources of the country.

by Victor Albert Le Page, B.A., formerly Administrative Officer, New Zealand Electricity Department, Wellington.