The Queenslander, 28 October 1899, p. 843
DARNLEY ISLAND CHURCH.
A ceremony of more than passing interest to all who are
interested in the reclamation of savage races took place in September in
far-away Torres Straits. Darnley Island is situated something over eighty miles
north-east of Cape York. Twenty-five years ago, when those self-sacrificing
missionaries, Messrs. Murray and Macfarlane, landed there the natives were
savages, not to say cannibals. To-day the island can boast of what is perhaps
the finest church building ever erected for mission purposes on the Australian
continent, or on the neighbouring islands. The Darnley Islanders are very proud
of their church. And well they may be, for it is the work of their own hands,
assisted by some South Sea Islanders, directed by an old identity of the
Straits, Andrew Johnson.
When the Government steamer White Star visited the place
last month with a party to open the building they found a cricket match in
progress between the Darnley Islanders and those of Saibai and Stevens. A stone
church and cricket! Could any greater change be imagined than this transition
in twenty-five years from savagery and cannibalism to Christianity and cricket?
This is not the first church on the island. There has for some years existed a
rustic-looking edifice of the native order of architecture, but the inhabitants
felt that the degree of civilisation which they had reached entitled them to a
more pretentious chapel, and they set to work with a will to give effect to
their ambitious ideas.
The new building is of a substantial kind, the walls being
of native cement, whitewashed inside and out. The roof is covered with
galvanised iron, but the heat is tempered by tastefully woven native mats
placed underneath and between the rafters. The interior is not unpleasing in
appearance, though it is necessarily not elaborately decorated. Our view was
taken just when the finishing touches were being given to the pulpit, hence the
shavings and other “litter” which appear in the picture. In the eastern end
there is a dais with a pulpit, which is used by the native teacher. On either
side there are seats for the choir, the women sitting on one side and the men
on the other. Over the pulpit may be seen the punkah—an idea that might well be
adopted in many of the Northern “whitefellows’” churches. The ceiling of native
mats gives the whole interior a finished aspect.
The church is remarkable for other reasons than that it was
built by native hands. It cost only a fraction over £100, and is therefore
probably the cheapest building of its size and quality—it holds 250 persons—in
Australasia. Also it is free of debt, another rare characteristic. The cost was
subscribed as follows:—Darnley Island natives, £48; South Sea Islander
residents, £56; Stevens Island, £3; sundry friends, £16; total, £123.
The Darnley Island church owes its existence in great
measure to the Rev. James Chalmers, the veteran New Guinea missionary (known to
his native flock as “Tamate”). A correspondent tells us that on the 13th
September the steamer White Star left Thursday Island for Darnley with the Hon.
John Douglas (Government Resident), “Tamate,” and other visitors, their object
being to formally open and consecrate the new mission church.
On landing, the party, as already stated, were just in time
to see a native cricket match in progress. This cricket is not altogether the
game as we know it. The available area for playing is circumscribed. The pitch
is situated on the water front, consequently the ball is frequently hit into
the sea. But the fielder without hesitation plunges in after it, and runs mount
up merrily while he swims back to shore with the ball in hand.
The party on arrival received a hearty island welcome. It is
the custom of the country to shake hands with all visitors. “Tamate” in
particular was warmly greeted, the natives crowding round him, all eager to
grasp the hand of their old friend. The actual ceremony of opening the church
was simple and brief. A procession was formed, headed by “Tamate,” and marched,
to the music of the ubiquitous concertina, to the church, taking the circuit of
the building before entering. The usual religious exercises completed the
ceremony. The event is well illustrated by our correspondent’s photographs.
The Darnley islanders all look happy and contented. The island is very fertile, and cocoanuts, bananas, yams, sweet potatoes, and mangoes grow in profusion. Many of the natives have boats, and make a good thing out of black-lipped pearlshell.
