Story: Missions and missionaries

'Fair are New Zealand's wooded mountains,
Deep glens, blue lakes, and dizzy steeps;
But sweeter than the murmuring fountains
Rises the song from holy lips'.

The Church Missionary Society was formed in 1799 and 15 years later it sent the first missionaries to New Zealand. This colourful tract, or religious pamphlet, was published in England in 1849 to celebrate the society's 50th anniversary. It includes the hymn, 'New Zealand'.