Background
At Oihi a stone cross on a remote national reserve marks the spot where on Christmas Day 1814, at the invitation of local chief Ruatara, the Reverend Samuel Marsden conducted the first Christian service on New Zealand soil for a Maori and European congregation.
The service celebrated the arrival of the three missionary families who were to live alongside Maori at Oihi in the shadow of the Rangihoua Pa. Ruatara had become friends with Marsden in New South Wales, Australia, and saw the benefits of agriculture and farming and other lessons from the Christian missionaries for the future of his people. In return he offered to share with the settlers his people’s relationship with the land – te whenua.
Oihi marks the site of New Zealand's first permanent European settlement, first school, first European birth, first mixed farm, first European cemetery, first horse and cow, first land sale, first baptism and the birth of Te Reo in its written form.
Culturally, Oihi marks the birthplace of our bi-culturalism and a unique relationship that has helped shape New Zealand into the country it is. It provides the backdrop for Waitangi, makes sense of why Christianity became a big part of Maori culture, and why manaakitanga (hospitality) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) have become key to the cultures of non-Maori New Zealanders.
It is important for our future that we acknowledge this place.
