Melanesian Mission

Office Moved to Sydney

THE headquarters of the well-known Melanesian Mission are being transferred from New Zealand to Sydney. The transfer will take place within a few months.

This announcement was made at a function held in Sydney on June 5. The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Mowll, said that the Mission was financed largely by £21,000 per annum promised by England, Australia and New Zealand—England £9000 per annum, New Zealand £6000 per annum, and Australia £6000 per annum. Incidentally, Australia last year contributed only £2340.

It should be explained, perhaps, that the mission activities of the Church of England in the South Seas are in three divisions—namely, Papua, known as the New Guinea Mission, directed by the Bishop of New Guinea and financed by the Australian Board of Missions; Fiji, under the direction of the Bishop-in- Polynesia, who resides in Suva; and New Guinea, British Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, Norfolk Island, and Banks Islands, directed by the Bishop of Melanesia, (whose residence is in the Solomon Islands) and financed by the Melanesian Mission, whose head office has been for very many years in Auckland. The Syd ney office of the three mission dioceses referred to has been the office of the Aus tralian Board of Missions at 242 Pitt Street, Sydney (Secretary, Rev. M. A.

Warren). The former Secretary of the N.Z. Finance Board (Major H. S. Robin son) is now to reside in Sydney, and will attend to the commercial and financial activities of the Mission.

It possibly would be a good thing if advantage were taken of this change to alter the name of the New Guinea Mission. The present arrangement is confusing, insomuch that the present New Guinea Mission deals only with Papua, whereas the Anglican mission activities in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea are controlled by the Melanesian Mission.

This position arose, of course, owing to the fact that when Australia took possession of German New Guinea in 1914, the Melanesian Mission extended its activities into that Territory from the Solo mon Islands, instead of the extension being made from the New Guinea Mission in Papua. In the old days Papua was frequently called British New Guinea; but that title now has fallen into almost complete disuse.