History of the CICC Mission House at Takamoa Theological College

Converting heathens to Christianity in the Cook Islands

The grand reopening of the CICC Mission House at Takamoa Theological College on Gospel Day, 26 October 2009 was a wonderful occasion for all concerned.
CICC church executives had issued an open invitation for everyone to attend the event which included a flag raising ceremony by the Boys Brigade, followed by Nuku style performances by the Takamoa Theological students who are due to graduate next month. Members of all six Ekalesia of CICC on Rarotonga also performed Nuku style entertainment which we all enjoyed.
However, the star attraction had to be the magnificent CICC Mission House itself and recalling the pioneering history of the London Missionary Society (LMS) who brought Christianity to our shores in 1821 in Aitutaki and then to Rarotonga in 1823.
Head of LMS in the Pacific was Reverend John Williams who sent the first two LMS trained Orometua from Raiatea in the hope their language being so similar to Cook Islands Maori would make communications much easier.
The missionaries were accepted by the Ui Ariki on Rarotonga who saw the missionaries and their message of hope as a way of bringing peace to the islands after several years of intertribal warfare.
In Avarua, Makea Nui Ariki provided some land on which Rev Williams and the LMS could set about building the first mission house in Takamoa.
The foundation was stone and lime was raised two feet above the ground and woodwork placed on top of that which the local people thought was very odd and bound to fall down. They were used to building houses where the supports of the roof and walls were dug deep into the earth.
Three years later, the building was washed away during torrential rainstorm and Rev Williams and Rev Aaron Buzzacott, their families and parishioners had to start all over again.
This catastrophe was watched very keenly by ‘old warriors’ who resented the coming of Christianity and the introduction of a code of laws, which interrupted their life of idolatory and plundering and the power they used to exert over their respective Ariki in return for their prowess on the battle fields.
The dissidents began a campaign of burning down buildings including a chapel, school house and at least 48 homes belonging to families converted by the missionaries. Undeterred, the converts organized guards of several hundred men who alternately surrounded the missionary’s house every night and kept up a ceaseless drumming all night to keep themselves awake (and no doubt to let the enemy know they were wide awake).
Meanwhile, the mission in Ngatangiia where Rev Charles Pitman was also under siege with a message in the dark of night to Rev Buzzacott that his chapel was ablaze and his home was in danger too.
Finally, one was caught red handed and the chiefs wanted to crucify him (literally) but the missionaries persuaded them that was not the Christian way and the chiefs converted the punishment to administering a number of lashes.
The people marched outside to watch the punishment but the chiefs remained inside and unknown to everyone the warriors were watching and preparing to massacre the chiefs as they stood alone.
Their plan fell apart because the ringleaders quarreled over their targets with none wanting to be the one to kill Makea Nui and when everyone returned, the opportunity was lost.
Twelve of the dissidents were fed up and decided to leave and offered their services on board a Tahitian merchant ship looking for sandal wood in West Polynesia. All they asked of the captain was that they be allowed to be landed on any of the Fiji islands where Christianity had not been introduced so they could continue in their old ways.
The sandalwood search failed and the captain landed them in Tongatapu where they were overcome by dysentery and ten died. The two survivors decided to come home to Rarotonga on board a schooner bound for Tahiti. One refused to work his passage on the boat despite daily beatings to get some work out of him and this continued until they finally reached our shores where he died the next day. The sole dissident survivor converted to Christianity and became a very devout and zealous teacher.
During their time away, the people of Rarotonga had also suffered from dysentery and 900 of them died – including many old warriors and their ringleaders. The local people saw the events as ‘visitation from God’ to bring about a new order of peace and harmony. The missionaries asked themselves the same question.
In any event, the London Missionary Society flourished in the Cook Islands until the 1965, when the LMS operations ended to be replaced by the creation of the Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) in 1965. They assumed management of all church activities formerly performed by the LMS and the CICC church constitution was passed by Parliament in 1968 and updated in 2003.
The mission house has now been restored to its former glory and will be used as the administrative headquarters of the CICC church and the executive have an open door policy where all visitors are welcome.
Much of the information is from ‘Mission Life in the Islands of the Pacific’ by Rev Aaron Buzzacott.

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