Nauru Congregational Church
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Nauru Congregational Church 1887-1987 Front cover picture: The present-day church at Orro Published by the Council for World Mission, Livingstone House. 11 Carteret Street. LONDON SW1H 9DL. UK Printed by The Campfield Press. St Albans. UK © 1987 Council for World Mission Nauru Congregational Church 1887-1987 N November 1987 the Nauru Congregational Church celebrates the I centenary of the coming of the Gospel to their island. It was brought by a Gilbertese (now called Kiribati) pastor, Timoteo Tabwia, who was put ashore from the small mission ship Morning Star IV, on or about 5th November 1887. The ship belonged to the American Congregational mission body ABCFM (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions). The place of landing in the Nibok District of Nauru is marked by a stone cairn near the present chapel there. This event marks the beginning of a colourful and difficult century, but by 1 987 Nauru has become self-governing with 99 per cent of its people literate, a country strongly influenced by the Christian faith with Congregational churches throughout the island, a Roman Catholic mission (established by Father Alois Kayser from Alsace as a Catholic Sacred Heart Missionary in 1902) and an Independent Church. Nauru, the land Nauru is a coconut tree fringed island, oval shaped, about 12 miles in circumference and 8'/2 square miles in area, located in the Central Pacific Ocean just 33 miles south of the Equator. It is nearly equi-distant from Honolulu to the west and Sydney south-westward. Nauru is the top of a great underwater mountain. The centre of the island is a plateau about 100 feet above sea level. The coastal strip is 100 yards to ’/2 mile wide; the surrounding underwater coral reef gives way suddenly to a sharp drop into deep water. The island plateau is phosphate rock dipping to a small lagoon, Buada, around which is the chief inland village, with fruit trees and luxuriant growth. The phosphate is quarried and despatched to coastal depots by road or by a one-mile railroad. A 1 9,000-ton ship can be loaded in 5 hours by two huge two-armed cantilevers using a conveyor belt to reach beyond the coral reef. Drying and storing plants on-shore greatly increase the facility of the modernised cantilever loading system. Nauru, the people Scholars do not agree as to the origin and racial composition of the 1,200 to 2,000 residents in 1887. Though discovered in 1798 by Captain Fearn of a British ship, the perils of approach by sea discouraged whalers, traders and deserters. The first to settle were a few beachcombers put adrift from Ocean Island who drifted ashore in 1842. A feud 3 Nauru Catholic Mission and School l AN ETAN ROADS RAILWAYS AN An A.-: Nauru Local Government Council ■ Domaneabl i ii a; Administration Hospital Quarant!'>■ Sirtiort^u p q EuropeanNIBOK Hospital fpB £ C General Hospital DENIGOMODU ' - /WL Z s' .New'Field Workshops 8 P C Settlement ANIBARE Boat Harbour '•B*P C Installations tation Cant lever BUADA A WO Cantilever Nauru ’SociaPCentre Hansemde Colony MENENG Consolidated YAREN Primary School Sac indJ'y School Administratin' Settemei ■ Paiiiament House Government Olfices Hospital _? MILES 3 KILOMETRES 4 ensued following a breach of a point of etiquette at a Nauruan wedding. Albert F Ellis reports they had been drinking ‘sour toddy’, a dispute arose, a pistol was fired, and the young chief of a high rank family was killed. The avenging of his death quickly involved all the twelve rival tribes in ‘the form of more or less indiscriminate sniping’ (Ellis, Ocean Island and Nauru, 38). William Harris survived, married a-number of Nauruan wives and was accepted readily because of his skill as a boat builder and his speedy fluency in the unique language of the island. Harris was impressed by the missionary work he had seen on other islands and besought the American mission in the Caroline Group to settle on Nauru. Nauru before 1887 (from an article by J Aroi) Nauru, before and even up to the arrival of Timoteo Tabwia, was completely shrouded in darkness, there was not one thread of light at all. There were settlers at the time, like the Europeans. These people never bothered to teach the Nauruans to improve themselves; instead they encouraged them to remain primitive. The Europeans brought in alcohol, guns and bad habits and the Nauruans were purchasing more and more of these firearms and were slowly learning the habits introduced to them although they could still visit one another in the districts at the time and killing people was still not practised. About ten years or so before the arrival of Timoteo Tabwia fighting broke out among two or three clans or tribes, triggered off by one person under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The fighting began to spread to the other tribes and soon developed into a full-scale inter-tribal war. It was not possible to travel from one district to another because people would be shot on sight irrespective of whether it be man, woman or child. The situation was quite favourable to the Europeans who were more interested in the 5 gains they were getting from the sale of these firearms than the loss of lives it entailed. The population dwindled markedly. On 10th April 1 886, probably about the time the ABCFM were thinking of sending a mission to Nauru, a deed was signed in Berlin between the governments of Great Britain and Germany dividing their territorial possessions tn the western Pacific—Nauru was allocated to Germany. (A German ship arrived at Nauru on 1 st October 1 888.) The work of God on the island of Nauru The following was written in 1937 by Timothy Deiudamo for the Jubilee in that year: lA ship ahoy! A ship is here!’ The person who shouted this announcement was in the coastal main road. He had been running from the northern districts and was still running arid shouting this piece of news going towards the next district, his last destination. People from the districts were all eager listeners especially when it was all about ships. During the period before the year 1887, people were always in readiness with their goods for sale, like chickens, pigs, baskets, seashells, sharks fins, and many more. Those which were received in exchange, and also the most sought after items, were tobaccos, firearms and liquors. When this runner arrived at Daradae in Baitsi district he again shouted, ‘A ship is here!’ The headman of Daradae, whose name was Dagayea (Jideida, asked him where was it? It was in the north coming this way, the announcer replied. Dagayea called out to his relatives and friends; they pulled out their canoes with their goods for sale and paddled out to head off the ship. They finally reached the vessel off Ganaka coast; they got hold of a rope and Dagayea climbed aboard, He held up his chicken to show it off, having already decided that if a crew wanted his chicken he would settle for a plug of tobacco but at the same time to make casual enquiries about guns and the like. After some time of displaying his chicken, not one person on board seemed to take any notice of it at all; he was very surprised if not annoyed, so went to the side and told his friends in the canoes that the people on board acted very; strangely. The ship wfas the Morning Star on her voyage of spreading evangelism to the people throughout the Pacific in the Gilberts, Marshalls and the Caroline Islands. She sailed from Kusaie after leaving there pupils from the Gilberts and Marshalls, and also brought teachers from Kusaie. At this point she was passing close to Nauru on her way to the Gilberts when Dagayea and party* headed her off. While Dagayea was still on board the pioneer evangelist. Mr Walkup, asked the purpose of his visit; Dagayea said, ‘I want guns and gunpowder, if you have any.' Mr Walkup replied in Gilbertese,* ‘No guns or cannons on this ship. This is a mission ship on a voyage to spread word about peace, life and blessings to all mankind.' Dagayea asked, ‘How would people receive life and blessings?’ Mr Walkup said, ‘Did you know anything about the god Tabuarik?’ Dagayea said, ‘I know him well, we have him here in "Mr Walkup and Tabwia spoke in Gilbertese. Dr Hiram Bingham fl, son of lhe famous American pioneer missionary in the Pacific, was a specialist in the languages of the Pacific. He appears Io have been lhe first lo recognise within the unique Nauruan language some affinities with Polynesian words and occasional words akin lo Micronesian and Melanesian. This linguistic clue is noi sufficient lo establish the origin or nativity of the Nauruans It was, however, enough to enable Mr Walkup and Tabwia to communicate with them. 6 our country, too.’ Mr Walkup said, ‘Well, there is one god who is much, much more powerful than Tabuarlk; if you let this god come to your country, people will have life and blessings.’ Dagayea said, ‘Very well, come with us and teach us all about him.’ Mr Walkup—‘Do you like him to be your god?’ Dagayea—‘Yes I do.’ Mr Walkup then said, ‘I am unable to go with you now but I will return.’ After words of encouragement from Mr Walkup, and after taking note of Dagayea's name, both men parted. The year 1886 came and went and Dagayea’s "date* still had not come.