ON the 30th October, 1940, we sailed from Vancouver in the “Aorangi”* for New Zealand and took our farewell of many kind friends who accompanied us to the quay to bid us God-speed. This was not the first time I sailed on the Pacific but it was to be the longest of my sea voyages with the exception of that from Australia to England. For the first few days the Pacific belied its name and it was somewhat dreary with cold winds and rains until we came within the warm belt of the Tropics. As we reached the Hawaiian Islands the weather was delightfully warm and later on we had real tropical weather which I greatly enjoyed. As the “Aorangi” berthed for a number of hours at Honolulu an opportunity was given to visit the beautiful island, Oahu, on which Honolulu is situated. Six miles west of the city lay Pearl Harbour basking in the beautiful sunshine and as yet untouched by the dread tragedy of war with which it was so soon to be visited. At the request of an Inverness friend I visited a lady in Honolulu, whose address had been given me, and whose husband, the late Rev. Prof. Ross, hailed from Inverness. I was agreeably surprised on reaching her beautiful home to see Iona written over the door, a name which always has tender associations for me as the birth-place of my mother. I was ushered into the house by a Japanese maid and cordially received by Mrs. Ross with that spontaneous hospitality which is such a fine trait characteristic of Americans in receiving visitors into their homes. Mrs. Ross offered to drive me to interesting places in the island but as I had already seen these she said: “You must see the boys, my nephews.” So I was driven to the school where I met the two boys only shortly out from Edinburgh, the sons of Dr. Martin, the Edinburgh specialist, and a relative of Mrs. Neil Macintyre of that city. The boys gave me a real Scottish welcome: no doubt glad to shake hands with a countryman, like themselves, so far from home.
*This is the Maori name for Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain which reaches the height of 12,350 feet: The name “Aorangi” means “cloud piercer”; surely appropriate enough for such a high mountain.
On leaving Honolulu, we passed through the region where flying fish are seen in abundance. Here we had the strange experience of a day slipping out of the calendar when we reached the International Date Line. We went to bed on Monday night and wakened up on Wednesday morning. We next reached the Fijian Islands, which unlike the Hawaiian, are British. The capital, Suva, is not a very impressive city, but the Fijian policemen, and porters, with their bushy heads and white skirts cut a very picturesque figure. The native soldiers, smart looking fellows also wore skirts—khaki coloured of course. The islands of the Pacific at one time were inhabited by cannibals but through the missionary labours of devoted men whose labours were blessed of the Lord the bulk of the people were brought under the power of the gospel. The classic story of Dr. John G. Paton’s work is well known to most of my readers. I had the pleasure of meeting two of the New Hebrides missionaries who were returning to the mission field and enjoyed their intercourse. It was a noble motive that took the early missionaries to the cannibal islands. On our way to Auckland we passed over the waters where the “Niagara” had been sunk by a raider with three million pounds of gold on board which has since been recovered. But in the good providence of God no incident happened to disturb us. I got into talk with some of the crew and discovered there were Highlanders on the “Aorangi” from Skye and Lewis, and Lowlanders from Glasgow and Edinburgh. On the 17th November the “Aorangi” safely berthed at Auckland, and on the following day I set off to Ruawai, North Auckland, where after a bus run of six hours I was kindly and hospitably entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Urquhart and Mrs. Urquhart’s brother, Mr. Duncan Mackenzie, all from Wester Ross. On Sabbath a meeting was held at Dargaville at which there was a goodly gathering—including not a few Free Presbyterians. The praise was led by Mr. Macrae, Kaikoho, formerly of Inverness, and who was well known to our people there. He passed away some months after and left behind him his widow, a daughter of the late Mr. Bryden, one of our Inverness deacons, and a daughter, to mourn his loss in distant New Zealand. While at Ruawai my kind host took me to Waipu one of the historic emigrant settlements. Here that remarkable man, Rev. Norman Macleod, ruled with a stern hand the emigrants that accompanied him across the Atlantic to Canada, thence to Australia and finally settled in the beautiful and fertile district of Waipu, New Zealand. Most of the old people of the second generation of the Assynt emigrants are now gone. While at Ruawai Mr. George Matheson and his wife invited me to stay some days with them at Marapiu, an invitation which I gladly accepted as I knew their parents in Stoer. I need not say that I was very hospitably entertained. On one of the days I was there, I was taken to see the famous Waipua Forest with its magnificent Kauri trees. No one who has not seen these giants of the forest can have any conception of their size. They are one of the sights of North Auckland. The same God that made these giants to grow can raise in New Zealand trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord—trees which will one day evoke greater wonder than the far-famed Kauris. After bidding farewell to my kind hosts at Marapiu and Ruawai I returned to Auckland accompanied by Mr. Duncan Mackenzie. We had a service in a hall on Sabbath at which there was a fair attendance including some from Inverness, Gairloch, Raasay, Lewis, Diabaig, Assynt, etc. While in Auckland I was kindly entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, son-in-law and daughter of my namesake, Mr. Donald Beaton, Matiere. Both Mr. Beaton and his wife came all the way from Matiere to be present at the service. On Monday we set out for Paparua the home of Mr. and Mrs. De Malmanche (a daughter of Mr. D. Beaton) where a meeting was held and the ordinance of baptism administered. Next day, accompanied by my kind friends from Matiere, we set out on a long journey and after a ten hours’ run we reached our destination safely. I felt at home at once on reaching Matiere. Meetings were held in Mr. Beaton’s house. Like the Bible patriarch, the Matiere patriarch, who hails from Diabaig, has a large family and a rising host of grandchildren who attend his meetings which he holds every Sabbath. At our meetings I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Maclean, formerly of Shieldaig, and their daughter, Mrs. Canty, and their grandchild, Chrissy Canty. The first Sabbath at Matiere we drove to Otangiwai where we met in a nice little church which was quite filled. The audience included representatives of the Maori race, one of the finest and most intelligent of the South Seas races though at one time savage enough as the early settlers knew to their cost. The second Sabbath I preached at Matiere but the audience was not so large as at Otangiwai. During the week a service was held at Niho Niho and the ordinance of baptism was administered. I enjoyed my stay at Matiere but the time came when we had to part. Early one morning accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Beaton and their son, Iain, we set out for the railway station which after a long motor run we reached about seven. I took farewell of my kind friends there, carrying with me pleasant memories of my host and hostess, and of Marion and Iain and the other members of their family. Before leaving Matiere I had an opportunity of visiting Mr. and Mrs. Maclean already referred to. The fact that Mr. Beaton keeps meetings regularly at Matiere forms a nucleus around which those interested may gather and who knows what the seed sown will yet yield?
As I had received the addresses of some whose friends wished me to call on them I endeavoured to carry out their requests. So I set off for Glen Massey, and through the kindness of Mr. Macdonald, the General Stores there, I was motored over a considerable part of the country making calls on my way. Mr. Macdonald is a native of North Uist and though not connected with our Church both he and his wife showed me every kindness and hospitality. After a few days’ stay at Glen Massey I set off to visit Mr. and Mrs. Batchelor, Reporoa. Mrs. Batchelor is a sister of Mrs. Matheson, Marapiu, and a daughter of Mr. and the late Mrs. Maclean of the Stoer congregation. I reached Rotorua and through the kindness of the Rev. Mr. Carter was motored to the wonderful thermal region with its geysers spouting forth boiling water and had an opportunity of seeing a real Maori whare (township). Mr. Carter motored me to Mr. and Mrs. Batchelor’s place at Reporoa, and next day to Taqua where I got the bus for Napier. Mr. Carter is ministering to the Maoris in that part of New Zealand and had many things to tell me about this interesting people. We called at the printing office where Maori literature is issued when I was saluted in good Inverness Gaelic: “Ciamar a thra sibh?” (How are you?) “Gu gasda: Ciamar a tha sibh fhéin?” I replied but as our vocabulary of the ancient tongue was limited we soon turned to the language in which we could more easily express ourselves. Mr. Gallanders presented me with a copy of the Pilgrim’s Progress and the Shorter Catechism both of which had been translated into Maori in this distant part of the world. I had an opportunity of meeting with Maori women and their children and though pressed by Mr. Carter to stay for the Sabbath and preach to them when the men would be also at home I had to deny myself as I had an engagement to preach at Wellington. I feel it my duty to acknowledge in this public way my sense of appreciation to Mr. Carter for all his kindness to me, a complete stranger to him. In the afternoon I caught the bus for Napier. Warning had been given me of the hair-raising experience encountered on this road but it was far worse than any description I had of it; never in all my life had I ever known anything like it. Once in a life-time is enough to traverse that road. Only drivers of the coolest nerve could ever successfully negotiate such a road and certainly our driver was one of the finest and coolest drivers that surely ever handled a bus. Soon after setting out I noticed a board with the words, “Forty-six miles of Hillroad.” “Surely,” I said to myself, “it cannot be like this all that distance of forty-six miles.” But it was, every inch of it. Wheeling round hair-pin bends with yawning gorges at the very side of the road it was an experience that will not soon be forgotten. At last we reached the end of the forty-six miles of hill road—such hill road as I never had seen. Under the kind hand of the Most High we reached Napier in safety. Some of my hearers probably will remember the earthquake disaster which destroyed the greater part of this city a number of years ago. Near Lake Tapua one could see a volcano still active and this part of the world is certainly not the most stable on the face of the earth. After a night’s rest at Napier I proceeded to Wellington where I preached on the Sabbath. There were representatives from Lewis, the mainland of Ross-shire, Stroma, Stoer, etc., present. The singing was conducted in Gaelic for the benefit of the Gaelic-speaking people present. The following week-end I went up to Palmerston North to visit Mr. William Anderson, a native of Tain, and with whom I had corresponded many years. Mr. Anderson has been a good friend to our Church and especially to the Tain congregation. He has reached the great age of 95. Needless to say a very hearty welcome was given me. I was agreeably surprised to find that Mrs. Anderson knew the late Mr. Alexander Maclean, elder, Inverness, and his wife when they were at Clunes. As Mr. Anderson could not attend a service outside in a hall we had a service in his house to which a number of people gathered including Mr. and Mrs. Maclean, Free Presbyterians. During my stay in Wellington I enjoyed the kind hospitality of Captain and Mrs. Macleod, both from Stoer. The Captain is doing his bit on the Pacific and I pray the Lord may bring him back in safety to his wife and family! I had invitations to go to the South Island, but had regretfully to decline them as I was anxious to get on to Australia. The Rev. J. P. Macqueen was the first Free Presbyterian deputy to hold services in New Zealand and he is very warmly remembered in the places where he preached. He and others may yet visit this wonderful land—a country that appealed to me more than any of those I passed through.
On the 4th January the “Manganui” set sail from Wellington to Sydney and on the 8th January we reached Sydney sailing up the bay in the early morning with the sun shining on its magnificent harbour. Sydney is a beautiful city, the second largest white city in the Empire and its citizens are justly proud of its famous Bridge and harbour. Though the raiders were busy as the press told us before we left they gave us no trouble and the dread Tasman Sea was as calm as a lake. Quite a number of friends were down meeting the ship and I was touched by this act of kindness as we were not allowed to mention name of ship or date of sailing except in the vaguest way. Their vigil was, therefore, longer and more uncertain than it would have been in normal times. Soon after my arrival we had a service in Sydney at which I met quite a number of Old Country friends whom I knew in other days, including the widow and family of the late Mr. John Sinclair, cabinet maker, who acted as my church officer during my early ministry in Wick. For the week-end I went out to Wollongong, about 60 miles from Sydney. Here I put up in the hospitable home of Mr. Neil and Mrs. Shaw, natives of Glendale. On the sabbath a service was held in Mr. Shaw’s house. During the week two meetings were held in Sydney in one of the Y.M.C.A. halls in Pitt Street. At the week-end I turned my face northwards to Grafton and after a long, dreary, night train journey of about 16 hours I was made welcome by Mrs. Scott and her sisters whose kindnesses soon made me forget the dreariness of the long journey. During my stay at Grafton two services were conducted every Sabbath and a prayer meeting during the week. There were also prayer meetings held during the summer months at Brushgrove in Mr. Hugh Grant’s house and in Mr. Norman Shaw’s house at Lawrence. Brushgrove is about 16 miles from Grafton and Lawrence about 26 miles. The possibility of conducting these meetings was due to the kindness of Mr. James A. Maclachlan, formerly of Glasgow and Kames, placing his car at our disposal. Mr. Maclachlan put me further in his debt by taking me north to the Tweed River as far as Murwillumbah. On the way northwards we broke our journey at Nimbin and stayed overnight in Mr. and Mrs. Richmond Kidd’s house where we were hospitably entertained. That night we had a service in the house after which two of Mr. Kidd’s children were baptised. Mr. Richmond (Ritchie, as he is commonly called) Kidd is a brother of Messrs. Alexander and James Kidd, elders, Ballina. I should have mentioned that Mr. Alexander Kidd met us at the Richmond and directed us on our way to Nimbin. We passed through beautiful country, somewhat mountainous reminding us of our native land. On Saturday we set off early from Murwillumbah having Ballina as our objective. On the way one or two calls were made at the houses of friends whose addresses had been given me. After a long but pleasant motor run we reached Ballina where we put up for the week-end. On Sabbath two services were conducted in the house of Mr. James Kidd, elder. Death and the removal of a number of the young people to the cities are thinning the ranks of the gathering at Ballina since some of the deputies had been there. On Tuesday we turned our faces towards Grafton and as an election of elders and the administration of the Lord’s Supper had been appointed by the Kirk-session both Mr. Alexander and Mr. James Kidd accompanied us. On Wednesday before the Communion the new church was opened when a lecture on the history and principles of the F.P. Church of Scotland was given. The Church is a very nice building and it is of interest as the first place of worship erected in Australia in connection with the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. It is now quite free of debt. The small congregation did nobly and friends of the cause in New South Wales also responded heartily to the appeal made to them. The Communion services were conducted on five days as at home. There was, however, no “Men’s” Meeting on Friday. Through indisposition Mr. Hugh Grant was not able to be present which was a matter of regret to us all. Since then he has passed to his rest. It was a pleasure to meet him and to have the fellowship we had even though it was short.
On Wednesday after the Communion Mr. Donald J. Shaw was ordained to the office of the eldership. The eldership now consists of Mr. Alexander Kidd, Mr. James Kidd and Mr. Donald J. Shaw. After this service a congregational meeting called by the Kirk-session for the appointment of trustees for the congregational property met. The appointment of these trustees enabled the lawyer to draw up title deeds in conformity with our church rules which included the insertion of the Model Clause. I then bade the little company to whom I had been ministering farewell and left next day for Sydney having received a promise of a berth in a ship sailing at the end of April. At the last moment the ship was commandeered by the Government for war purposes as likewise two other ships. While waiting for these in which berths had been promised I held services on Sabbath in Mr. Shaw’s house Wollongong, and in Hurstville in the house of Mr. Murdo MacGregor formerly of Kishorn. I will long remember the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw and Mr. and Mrs. McGregor and their families. During the week while waiting for a ship-meetings were held in Sydney. At last I was told that the ship promised had been again commandeered by the Government and the Shipping Company did not know when a berth would be available. So I returned to Grafton. Here I had to wait six months beyond the time I had planned for leaving for home. I feel it my duty to acknowledge here that it was through the good offices of Mr. Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand, who cabled to the Prime Minister of Australia to use his influence in getting a passage for me that I did get away when I did. This was not the only occasion when Mr. Fraser showed his kindness and made it easier for me to get through the stringent rules and regulations imposed by war conditions. To him and his kind lady I tender, in this public manner, my sincerest thanks. I have also to thank the Greenock friends who got into touch with the Admiralty and the London friends who approached the high Australian officials in London and though I was on the high seas, nearing my native land by the time their efforts succeeded, I, none the less, appreciate their efforts and their solicitude on my behalf and tender them my sincerest thanks. There are many interesting matters which took place on the high seas to which I might have referred but in these days one has to bear in mind that the censor is in the land.
This ends the account of my sojourn in Australia; and on the page of memory the kindness I received from many friends in that land will ever, I trust, remain a green spot on memory’s page. But above all others, Mrs. Scott and her sisters, are to be specially mentioned for all the kindnesses they so generously lavished on me.
The Lord in His kindness was good to me beyond measure in the health I enjoyed, in the many comforts bestowed upon me and in the measure of freedom granted to me in preaching the gospel. The Great Day will declare what took me on this mission to the ends of the earth and my prayer for young and old to whom I preached is that in that Day they will be found at the right hand of the Judge of the whole earth.
I received many warnings about the Australian heat but I quite enjoyed it after the tropics the highest temperature being only 95°. It would have been more to the point if I had been warned by my kind mentors of the bitter cold of the Australian westerly winds during the winter nights.
In a letter I had from Mr. Angus MacKay, Innisfail, Alberta, before his death he said: “When our Church began in 1893 it was said it was only a storm in a teapot but in 1940 you have been in the U.S.A. and Canada addressing meetings of Free Presbyterians and you are now going on to New Zealand and Australia.” I repeat this in no boasting spirit but for the satisfaction it gives one in driving another nail into the coffins of the lying prophets of 1893. Former deputies have given a historical sketch of the Brushgrove-Grafton congregation so I need not repeat what has been so well said already but I would like to take this opportunity of reminding our people that between the visits of the first deputy, Rev. Duncan MacKenzie, and the second, Rev. Roderick Mackenzie, there was the long period of 14 years and between Mr. Mackenzie’s in 1929 and Rev. J. P. Macqueen’s the third deputy, there were six years and a like period between the last visit and the present. It is difficult for us to put ourselves in the place of this little band during all these years and realise all they passed through—always hoping that better days would come. I appeal to our ministers at home to do what they can to remove the feeling of isolation which has such a depressing effect at times. Sympathy is not enough and it was because I felt this that something more than an annual expression of sympathy at the Synod was required that I ventured to face the dangers of the ocean in war time to bring them a personal message of cheer and my prayer is that my visit may not have been altogether in vain.
I conclude by saying that I was deeply touched to learn that so many were solicitous for my well-being and that they were remembering me at the throne of grace. I fully believe that their prayers were abundantly answered. And what shall I say for myself? Well, as I have acknowledged in the Magazine already surely I saw the fulfilment of His promise—”Thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.”