Aaron Buzacott the elder (March 4 1800 - September 20 1864), a Congregationalist colleague of
John WilliamsJohn Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
(the 'Martyr of Erromanga'), author of ethnographic works and co-translator of the Bible into the language of Rarotonga, was a central figure in the
South SeasThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
missionary work of the
London Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, living on
RarotongaRarotonga is the most populous island in a group of islands known as the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 .Cook Islands' Parliament buildings, as well as the international airport, are located on Rarotonga...
(one of the Cook Islands) between 1828 and 1857.
Greatly influenced by his mother, he was born in South Moulton,
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
where his father was a
whitesmithA whitesmith is a person who works with "white" or light-colored metals such as tin and pewter. While blacksmiths work mostly with hot metal, whitesmiths do the majority of their work on cold metal ....
and ironmonger and the family attended the local Congregational chapel.
Aaron Buzacott the elder (March 4 1800 - September 20 1864), a Congregationalist colleague of
John WilliamsJohn Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
(the 'Martyr of Erromanga'), author of ethnographic works and co-translator of the Bible into the language of Rarotonga, was a central figure in the
South SeasThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
missionary work of the
London Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, living on
RarotongaRarotonga is the most populous island in a group of islands known as the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 .Cook Islands' Parliament buildings, as well as the international airport, are located on Rarotonga...
(one of the Cook Islands) between 1828 and 1857.
Early life
Greatly influenced by his mother, he was born in South Moulton,
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
where his father was a
whitesmithA whitesmith is a person who works with "white" or light-colored metals such as tin and pewter. While blacksmiths work mostly with hot metal, whitesmiths do the majority of their work on cold metal ....
and ironmonger and the family attended the local Congregational chapel. Sarah, his wife, was also from South Moulton, and became known for her educational work and writings in the South Seas mission. Her sisters also married missionaries, and her brother, Mr George Hitchcock, a friend and neighbour of
Samuel MorleySamuel Morley , was an English woollen manufacturer, philanthropist, dissenter , abolitionist, political radical, and statesman.-Introduction:...
's at St Paul's Churchyard, became noted for his support of Congregationalism.
Aaron Buzacott entered Hoxton Academy in 1820 and devoted himself for three years to the study of general and classical literature and frequently attended the metropolitan Methodist chapels, the
Tottenham Court Road ChapelWhitefield's Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road, a church in London, England; also called Tottenham Court Road Chapel, was built in 1756 for George Whitefield. It was enlarged in 1759...
and
Moorfields Chapel (Whitefield's Tabernacle)Whitefield's Tabernacle, Moorfields, a church at the corner of Tabernacle Street and Leonard Street, London, England, originally a wooden building built by followers of George Whitefield in 1741, replaced by a brick building in 1753, and again rebuilt over a century later...
. Expressing an interest in missionary work, his tutors commended him to the Board of the London Missionary Society, and after examination they accepted him for training at their Mission College under Dr Bogue. Upon his death the students were transferred to Highbury College and the old Hoxton Academy near London. He completed his course in 1826, being ordained in January 1827 at Castle Street Congregational Church in
ExeterExeter is a city and district in Devon, England; it is the county town of Devon. Exeter is located approximately northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol, on the River Exe. The city has a population of 111,076 according to the 2001 Census....
. He married Miss Hitchcock the following month and later that year the couple set sail, via Tahiti, for Rarotonga in the South Seas, where they were to spend most of the rest of their lives.
Missionary work in the South Seas
Aaron Buzacott considered
schools constitute one of the most important departments of missionary labour, and he paid special attention to the selection and education of native people. This purpose was advanced by his purchase of a piece of land on
AvaruaAvarua is a town and district in the north of Rarotonga Island. It is equivalent to Te-au-o-tonga, one of three vaka and had its own local government headed by a mayoress until its legal abolishment in February 2008. Avarua is the national capital of the Cook Islands...
(Rarotonga) for 150 dollars, funded by the London Missionary Society; around which he paid for a stone wall built, and within which four cottages for Rarotongan families and single men, and a college building which still exists (Takamoa Theological College), were completed. Besides Mr Buzacott himself, the college was also staffed by Mrs Sarah Buzacott - who taught the married women students writing, arithmetic and needlework. The building architecture was designed to withstand the most violent hurricanes and was still in good condition when the Buzacott family left in 1857 owing to Aaron's ill health.
The work of the college built on educational work to record
Cook Islands MaoriThe Cook Islands Maori language, also called Māori Kūki 'Āirani or Rarotongan, is the official language of the Cook Islands. Most Cook Islanders also call it Te reo Ipukarea, literally "the language of the Ancestral Homeland"....
and print books in the native language. English only became the dominant language on the islands after the missionary period, and though it was taught at the college, the training of local pastors to encourage reading in the native language was seen as the key. This project of education in the native language, had begun in 1821 with the arrival of the missionary John Williams on Aitutaki. In 1823 his entourage, which included the native Tahitian from Borabora,
Papehia, arrived on Rarotonga, soon to be joined by Charles Pitman in 1827 and, in 1828, by Buzacott. Initial translation of the Bible commenced in 1828 and was completed in 1851. Buzacott's
Te Akataka Reo Rarotonga (published 1854-69) long remained the authoritative grammatical resource. By the early 1830s a printing press was in full operation under Buzacott's guidance, and by the mid-1850s most Rarotongans were able to read.
In 1831 Aaron Buzacott visited all the islands in the Hervey Group, with John Williams, and found them to suffer badly from hurricanes and cyclones during the winter. To help prevent famine he introduced the
sweet potatoThe sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Amongst the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of this family, only I. batatas is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable...
, growing a crop in a piece of ground granted by the chief. Intense interest was arounsed when he showed that the crop could be sold to a passing captain in exchange for coloured
calicoesCalico has different meanings according to which country the word is used in. Originally calico was a plain-woven textile which originated in the city of Kozhikode, Kerala, India, which was known by Europeans as Calicut, in the 11th century...
.
The effect was magical records Mr Buzacott,
Chiefs and people were eager for 'eyes' and 'tops' for planting. a suitable district was fixed upon and in a given week the whole population turned out. In the following year Mr Buzacott and John Williams traveled to
TahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The island had a population of 178,133 inhabitants according to the August 2007 census. This makes it the most populous island of French Polynesia,...
together.
Aaron Buzacott later visited
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
(in 1834, and again in 1836) where he found American and English sailors who had run away from whaling ships, living on the islands with the permission of Samoan Chiefs but without schools. Mr Buzacott wrote:
It was pleasing to observe, by contrasting the present condition of Rarotonga with that of Samoa, the progress the gospel had already made among us.
Aaron Buzacott visited England 1847-51, being for that time a communicant under the pastoral care of the
Rev. Henry AllonHenry Allon , English Nonconformist divine, was born on 13 October 1818 at Welton, Elloughton-cum-Brough, near Hull, in Yorkshire.Under Methodist influence Henry Allon decided to enter the ministry, but, developing Congregational ideas, was trained at Cheshunt College, Hertfordshire and became...
of
Union ChapelThe Union Chapel is a Grade II listed church and music venue in Islington, North London. It is off Upper Street, near to Highbury and Islington station....
,
IslingtonIslington is the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district in London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, near
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
Retirement, death & memorial
Retiring for health reasons, to
New South WalesNew South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...
in 1857, Aaron Buzacott died there on September 20 1864, attended by his wife and many friends. His funeral was held on 21 September, a Presbyterian minister reading from Scripture, and the procession then moving on to the Bourke Street Congregational Church where Rev Hartley, a Primitive Methodist, gave out the hymn. He was buried in the Congregational burying-ground in Devonshire Street,
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, now the location of the
Central Railway StationCentral Railway Station is the largest railway station in Sydney. It is located on the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all of the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services. Central Station houses the operations of New...
.
Much of his contribution to published ethnographic knowledge of the Cook Islands, Samoa and Melanesia, was set out in a volume that was published posthumously in 1866 back in London, edited by his son and J. P. Sunderland, and with a preface by the Rev.
Henry AllonHenry Allon , English Nonconformist divine, was born on 13 October 1818 at Welton, Elloughton-cum-Brough, near Hull, in Yorkshire.Under Methodist influence Henry Allon decided to enter the ministry, but, developing Congregational ideas, was trained at Cheshunt College, Hertfordshire and became...
. The work was concluded by several letters to Mrs. Buzacott written just after the death of her husband and in high estimation of him, and a list of diseases prevalent in the islands of the South Seas.
Aaron's widow Sarah Verney Buzacott, who kept her own written account of life in the coral islands of the Pacific, died some while later in England, and is buried at the Congregationalist's
Abney Park CemeteryAbney Park in Stoke Newington, north-east London, UK is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and educational...
,
Stoke NewingtonStoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, London. Their son, Rev. Aaron Buzacott the younger (1829-81) - who styled himself
Rev Aaron Buzcott BA to distinguish his work from that of his father - became Secretary of the
Anti-Slavery SocietyThe Anti-Slavery Society or ASS was the everyday name of two different British organizations.The first was founded in 1823 and was committed to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Its official name was the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the...
- now
Anti-Slavery InternationalAnti-Slavery International is a International nongovernmental organization, charity and a lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1839, it is the world's oldest international human rights organisation, and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and...
- and pastor (c.1870) of the Asylum Road Congregational Chapel, later known as the Clifton Congregational Chapel,
PeckhamPeckham is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, located 3.5 miles south-east of Charing Cross, about one mile east of Camberwell and one mile west of New Cross....
; he is buried with his mother at Abney Park Cemetery.
Today the two-story Takamoa Mission House in the coastal town of Avarua, erected by Aaron Buzacott, is a government office; and the settlement of Arorangi, established by the Rev. Aaron Buzacott as a model village to resettle people near the coast under a native pastor, a tourist destination.
References
- Buzacott, Aaron (1985 reprint), Mission Life in the Islands of the Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific (SUAV) & The Cook Islands Library & Museum Society
- Joyce, Paul (1985), A Guide to Abney Park Cemetery, London: SAPC & L.B.Hackney
- French, James Branwhite (1883), A Guide to Abney Park Cemetery, London:James Clarke & Co
- Hiney, Tom (2000), On the Missionary Trail: a journey through Polynesia, Asia and Africa with the London Missionary Society
Books
- Buzacott, Aaron (1866), Mission Life in the Islands of the Pacific, London:John Snow & Co