The New Hebrides are a group of islands that lie to the north of New Caledonia, and were discovered by the Spanish explorer de Quires in 1606. De Quires landed on one of the most northerly islands and thinking he had discovered the great southern continent, he called it, "Terra Australia del Espiritu Santo", (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit).

      Nothing more was heard of the group until some 160 years later when in 1768, the French navigator Bougainville, disproved de Quiros' claim, by sailing between Espiritu Santo and Malekula. On this voyage Bougainville discovered the islands, Pentecost, Aoba and Maewo to which he gave the name Cyclades. For the past fifty years the Churches of Christ have been doing missionary work in the Cyclades.

      The islands in the southern part of the New Hebrides were discovered by the great navigator Captain Cook. In 1774 he entered the group from the north and sailed southwards, discovering and naming, most of the islands.

      Britain and France made an agreement in 1887 not to exercise a separate control over the group and for a number of years a Joint Naval Commission was appointed to protect the lives and property of British and French subjects. In 1906 by the Convention between Britain and France the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides was established. This means that the New Hebrides is neither British nor French. Each Power "retains sovereignty over its nationals and over corporations legally constituted according to its law" and neither Power exercises a separate authority over the Group."

      The New Hebridean native is left without any national status. He cannot "acquire in the Group the status of subject or citizen" of either nation.

      The area of the New Hebrides roughly 5,700 square miles. Espiritu Santo is the largest island and has an area of approximately 1,500 square miles. Aoba, Pentecost and, Maewo are listed amongst the larger islands.

      The climate is very enervating The year is divided into two seasons, the hot and wet season commencing in November and ending in April and the dry and cool season from May to October. Rainfall varies from 50 inches in the extreme south to over 200 inches in the far north.

      Copra grown on European and Native plantations is the chief product for export. Cocoa, trochus Shell, and timber are also exported. Citrus fruits, papaws, bananas, pine-apples and other tropical fruits and vegetables are easily grown. It is doubtful if the islands have ever known famine, although hurricanes do extensive damage to crops and thus set back food production.

      There are approximately 45,000 New Hebridean Natives. Only a few tribes remain in heathenism. These tribes live in the interior of Santo and Malekula, although, oil most islands there are scattered villages that have not accepted the gospel.

The Intrepid Pioneers.

      The task of winning the New Hebrides for Christ commenced in 1839 by the London Missionary Society. The first missionary was that valiant and fearless navigator John Williams. His life was taken by the natives of Erromanga, and thus he was the first in a long, line of martyrs, who were to give their lives for Christ's sake and the gospel's in the New Hebrides.

      Inside the Martyr's Memorial Church on Erromanga there is a tablet inscribed with the names of the five martyrs of Erromanga, Williams, Harris, George and Ellen Gordon and James Gordon. Forgotten by men, but not by God are the names of scores of brown men and women "that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held". It has been said that up to 1856 between fifty and sixty native missionaries from the Eastern Groups of the Pacific died or were murdered at their posts in the different islands of the New Hebrides.

      In 1848 the London Missionary Society made arrangements with the Presbyterian Church to take over the work they had commenced. Dr. J. G. Paton was one of the great pioneers and the story of his courageous witness has challenged many to sacrifice their lives for Christ.

      In the northern part of the Group the Church of England commenced work under the leadership of Bishop Selwyn. He was followed by John Coleridge Patterson, who was clubbed to death in the Santa Cruz Islands.

      The Churches of Christ first be came interested in the New Hebrides when some of our brethren sought to preach the Word to the natives generally called 'kanakas' who were brought by shameful methods from the islands of the Pacific to work on the sugar plantations in Queensland. Mr. F. J. Purdy and J. Thompson were amongst those who gave the gospel to the kanakas. At the beginning of this century the kanakas were deported from Australia under the White Australia Act. Many returned with a determination to preach the gospel to their own people. Their task was not easy and their lives were often in danger. In recalling their experiences one old man said, "The heathen threatened us with spears and bows and arrows, but we did not care, we went ahead and preached the gospel." One of the kanaka pioneers was Silas, who is still living today in our villages at the northern end of Pentecost. An attempt was made on his life when he was preaching in a village church. A heathen man pointed a shot-gun through the window and fired. Fortunately his aim was inaccurate and no harm was done. Another pioneer was Willie Tabymancon and although now dead many years the power of his life is still felt amongst the people on Pentecost.

      Following the kanaka pioneers came the missionaries. In 1903 John Thompson went to Pentecost, Tabymancon welcomed him and many of the Pentecost people came to greet him, thus showing that a response was being made to the preaching of the native teachers. Owing to repeated attacks of malaria, John Thompson only stayed on Pentecost for a few months, but before he left he promised that another worker would be sent. In 1903, Frank Filmer, at the age of twenty-three, went forward to Pentecost to continue the pioneering work. He gave twelve years of valuable service and paved the way for subsequent missionaries.

      On Aoba. Mr. F. J. Purdy arrived in 1906. He was not sent by the Churches of Christ but by interested friends. However owing to the inadequacy of the support from Australia, he established a trading station rather than abandon the work. As a trader he was still able to preach the Word, and in one sense never ceased to be a missionary. There was the need however for somebody to give his full time to missionary work and an appeal was made to the F.M. Board to send a worker out. Consequently Theodore Waters arrived in 1911 and was used of God for many years. He consolidated the work commenced by the native teachers and Mr. Purdy. His work extended to Maewo where he had the opportunity of preaching to people who had never heard the gospel. Mr Waters tackled the Ndui Ndui Language, and was able to preach in

that tongue. He translated 1^st Thessalonians and several chapters from John's Gospel and Genesis.

      The first resident missionary on Maewo was Mr. A. Chappell. After he left the work, Maewo was without a resident missionary until 1955.

      We should never forget the work of these intrepid pioneers. They were men who were willing to adventure for God and obey the Lord's command to preach the gospel in the uttermost parts of the earth. Although they faced perils on land and sea their zeal did not flag, and their labours were not in vain.

The Situation Today.

      There are at present eleven missionaries on the field engaged in medicine, education and evangelism.

      A hospital has been erected at Ramnawat, Pentecost and Ndui Ndui, Aoba. A maternity ward is being built on Maewo. The natives are by no means a healthy people and they would be in a very sorrowful position if it were not for our nursing sisters. There are no government hospitals on our three islands and we may be considered fortunate if a doctor visits us more than once a year. Tuberculosis, malaria, yaws and hookworm abound. Injuries such as deep knife wounds, broken limbs, spear wounds and those caused by sea life are common. The task of extracting teeth is also performed by our nursing sisters. Most of the expectant mothers avail themselves of the service available both before and at the time of their confinement. The majority of the natives have little knowledge of Hygiene and the task of teaching them is performed by the nurses and teachers in the mission schools.

      Education has an important place in our mission. In the New Hebrides the task of educating the natives has been left entirely in the hands of the Missionary Societies. Since the very early days of our work village schools have been conducted by native teachers. The village schools are important as the children come from them to the mission school with some knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic The task of the missionary engaged in teaching would be impossible if it were not for the village schools We have three Primary School, under the control of a missionary namely, Ranwadi on Pentecost Nissawa on Maewo, and Ndui Ndui on Aoba. The education of the girls is completed in these schools, but the boys who have the ability are sent to the Training School on Aoba to train as pastor-teachers. We cannot over stress the need for capable and devoted native leaders. The spiritual life in many villages is at a low ebb, through the lack of trained pastor-teachers. It is the task of the Training School to create native leaders who will inspire their people to, "be strong in the Lord and the power of his might." J. W. Burton in "Modern Missions in the South Pacific," in stressing the need for adequate training for native teachers writes "The whole future of the Pacific from the Christian point of view. really depends on whether we can create leaders of adequate culture, of sterling character, and of undoubted devotion. If we fail, here, we fail utterly."

      All missionaries are concerned with evangelism. Through the medical work, pain is relieved, the sick are healed and the tone of health in the community as a whole is improved. The result is that the people are more willing to hear the Word of God and praise Him for all His benefits. In the schools the scriptures are explained daily and the students are urged to live for Christ. Different churches are visited every Lord's Day and Bible Classes are conducted during the week in the evenings. Periodically, visits are made to villages remote from the mission, and on these occasions the missionary will stay in the area for several days. Important evangelistic work is being done amongst the women. Women's

meetings are held in most villages very week under the guidance of a lady missionary or a native woman. Successful Conferences f or the women have been arranged in recent years. These Conference meetings are attended by the women from our three islands.

      The evangelistic work is shared with the native Christians and we should never under-estimate the importance of their work. Candidates for baptism are instructed by native teachers, and are baptised by them. As we have 26 churches on Aoba, 15 churches on Pentecost and 5 churches on Maewo, it means that many villages go for weeks without the visit of a missionary, and during this time the native teacher is entirely responsible. A Church Council which comprises teachers, elders, and deacons from each village acts as a governing body and gives assistance to villages that are facing problems of a serious nature.

      In recent years the Aoban Christians have extended their work to some of the small islands near Espiritu Santo and to some villages on Santo. This work is entirely in the hands of the natives as they select the teachers, finance the work and baptise their converts. It is encouraging to find the people anxious to spread the gospel to new areas, however it places our Mission in an awkward position, as we are entering an area considered to be Presbyterian. The Churches of Christ observe the comity of missions and therefore do not reserve to themselves the right to go into the areas of other Christian denominations to make converts. While the comity of missions aims at preventing "overlapping" and has to a large extent been successful, it has been found that circumstances sometimes justify the entry of one mission into that of another. We would justify our entry into the Presbyterian area on the following grounds.

      1. The villages to which our people have gone did not belong to the Presbyterian Church. The people were heathen, but were friendly to the Aobans, and invited the Aobans to send teachers. An exception is the Hog Harbour area where the invitation was made by a man who at one time had been in fellowship with the Presbyterian Church. There are strong family ties between the Aobans and the people at Hog Harbour and this was a major factor in the Aobans decision to accept the invitation.

      2. Our missionaries have urged our native brethren not to interfere with any villages that are Presbyterian. We feel however that it would be wrong to prevent them from going to any heathen that call them. In the Ndui Ndui area there are several villages that remain heathen. Should they invite teachers from say the Melanesian Mission or Presbyterian Mission to work amongst them we would not protest although they are in our area, and the gospel has been preached to them without success for many years. We would rejoice because they were willing at last to receive the Word.

      3. The call has been sent to the Aoban Christians and they feel they must accept. Abel Bani the head teacher on Aoba in discussing the situation said, "They have called us. We must go. If we do not go and they do not accept the gospel it will be our fault."

      4. The Commission of Christ, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations," is for all who obey Him and the island Christians should be encouraged to accept it. Though they may be poorly equipped from an educational point of view, their sincere desire to obey the Commission is commendable.

The Task Ahead.

      Much has been accomplished in the short history of our mission but there is still a great work to be done. The medical and educational work must be maintained and improvements made where possible. Missionaries engaged in these

avenues of service receive more assistance than those of earlier days, There is the assistance they receive from within the mission as experienced workers pass on valuable advice. Now that we have a larger staff it means that the new worker is not left to spend years trying to discover what is needed and how to cope. When he arrives there are workers on the field who are willing to give the assistance that is necessary. In the days when there was only a married couple on the field it often happened that they had left the field before the arrival of the next couple hence the new-comers received no help from their experience, but were left to learn by their own mistakes. These mistakes often proved harmful to the work for years after the missionary had left the field.

      Valuable assistance is given to missionaries today, by the South Pacific Commission which was established nine years ago, by the Governments of Australia, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U. S. A. The Governments participating in the Commission desire "to encourage and strengthen international co-operation in promoting the economic and social welfare of the peoples of the non self-governing territories in the South Pacific region administered by them". Of particular assistance to the missionary is the highly qualified advice the Commission provides concerning certain diseases, dietary and nutritional problems, and education. Workers among the island peoples may consult the Commission and any information that is available will be readily supplied. Missionaries with such valuable information at their disposal are better equipped to understand the needs of the island peoples and to face the task ahead.

      Much linguistic study is still needed in the New Hebrides. The area in which we are working remains to a large extent linguistically unstudied. Other than the few chapters translated by Theodore Waters no translations of the scriptures have been made. The number of languages is a problem and if translations are made they will need to be in at least six languages if all our people are to receive the Word in their own tongue. The task however, should not be shunned and we should aim at giving all our people at least a portion of the scriptures in their own tongue, New workers would be well advised to attend, "The Wycliffe School of Linguistics", before coming to the field or during their first furlough. It should be understood that the people hear the Word of God in their own tongue. The native teachers preach in the vernacular and the missionaries at times use an interpreter or use what knowledge they possess of the language. All missions other than the French Catholic spend much time in teaching English in the mission schools. There are forty students in cur Training School and amongst them six languages are spoken. The necessity of having a lingua franca is readily understood and as simplified English will undoubtedly become the lingua franca in the Pacific its use in our mission schools in fully Justified. As the student's knowledge of English increases so they are more able to explain the scriptures to their own people. Today more than ever, books are being printed in simple English for the island peoples and these are eagerly read by those who have attended our mission schools.

      We must continue the task of making the message of Christ plain to the people so that there is a growth in spiritual understanding. When these people first heard the gospel they accepted it not one by one, but village by village. The head men in the village decided whether they would become Christian or remain heathen. It meant that many accepted Christianity without a change of heart. Many become very indignant today if they are told they are not Christian because they live unholy lives. It must not be thought that here in the islands

we have a group of people that have absolutely surrendered their lives to Christ and are so deeply spiritual that to live amongst them is a foretaste of heaven. The truth is that there are only a few in each village who really care about the Lord's work. Many who have been baptised never attend church. The marriage vows are taken lightly and adultery is a common sin. Some have the taste for liquor and will do all they can to secure it. There are those who show antagonism towards the missionaries and if it were not for the benefits they receive through the hospitals and the schools would not tolerate their presence. The tragedy is that there are few cases of genuine repentance. Often the village teachers put a guilty person out of fellowship for a few weeks and then receive him again at the end of this period even if there is no genuine repentance. Sin abounds, because the church leaders know the people are sinning and they do not restrain them.

      However we must not be too harsh in our judgement. Only fifty years ago these people lived lives of savagery and bestiality. Cannibalism was practised and some of the older men can remember the cannibal feasts. People were tortured and put to death for the slightest offence. With the coming of Christianity there has come freedom and many would say as did the opponents of the Apostle Paul, that the teaching of pardon by God's free favour encourages sin. But with Paul we would say, "Shall we sin to our heart's content and see how far we can exploit the grace of God?" Romans 6:1 (Phillips). We must press on with the task of showing the people that if, "we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:4. We must make it clear that those who would follow Christ must look upon themselves "as dead to the appeal and power of sin but alive to the call of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:11 (Phillips).

Assistance from the Home Churches.

      The task of preaching Christ in the New Hebrides was commenced by the home churches fifty years ago. Throughout this time the churches in the islands have been looking to the home churches to send missionaries and financially support them. The island Christians must be capable of maintaining the hospitals, educational and evangelistic work, before our task in this area is completed. Progress in the mission field depends not only on the missionaries and the indigenous people but also upon the supporting churches in the home land. Valuable opportunities of serving the people and advancement are often lost because the home churches are failing in their support. It was over thirty-five years after the commencement of the work in the New Hebrides before a medical missionary was sent and over forty years before a Training School was established. Much valuable time is wasted by missionaries because the equipment sent by the supporting churches is of poor quality. Often commodities that are out-worn and useless are sent out to the mission field. If these things are of no use in Australia, their usefulness does not increase by sending them to the mission field.

      Most Christians believe in missions, but they lack enthusiasm, and are so busy serving the home church that they never hear the cry from those in less favoured lands. The Rev. Alan Walker on his return from visiting mission stations in New Guinea wrote, 'God forgive me! God forgive me for the dullness of mind and lukewarmness of heart, I have given over all my life to the missionary cause of the church.

      Oh, I have believed in missions but how limited was the understanding and how unworthy the enthusiasm. But now I know. Having heard with the hearing of the ears, now I have seen. Penitently, humbly I shall try to make amends. For the rest of my life the world mission of Jesus shall come first." (The Missionary Review).

      If our churches have lacked enthusiasm and have had a lukewarm attitude to the world mission of Jesus, let us make amends and make it the supreme task of the church.

      R. S. MCLEAN--comes from Cowandilla, S. A., and graduated from the Federal College of the Bible, Glen Iris, in 1947. Then followed two years' training in the Teachers' College, Adelaide, to further develop his capacity for specialised missionary service. After this Mr. McLean proceeded to the New Hebrides, where he has been serving during the past six years.