Roger Steer

The story of a brave Devonian missionary

If you had been in Exeter cathedral on Sunday, September 14, 1853, you would have seen John Coleridge Patteson made a deacon by the 75-year-old Bishop of Exeter, Henry Phillpotts. Patteson, who grew up in Feniton in east Devon, was the son of a distinguished judge and nephew of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, author of ‘The Ancient Mariner’. Perhaps for that reason, he was selected to read the Gospel in the cathedral on that memorable Sunday.

Known to family and friends as ‘Coley’, Patteson, having been made a deacon, moved into a small house in Alfington, a village on the river Otter, two miles north-east of Ottery St Mary. Another of his uncles, Sir John Coleridge, heard Patteson deliver his first sermon in Alfington church and has left us the following touching description in his diary: ‘Yesterday morning Arthur and I went to Alfington Church, to be present at Coley’s first sermon. I don’t know when I have been so much delighted and affected. His manner of saying the prayers was exceedingly good: his voice very sweet and musical; without seeming loud, it was fully audible, and gave assurance of more power if needed: his manner quite unaffected, but sweet and devout. His sermon was a very sound and good one, beautifully delivered; perhaps in the early parts, from the very sweetness of his voice, and the very rapid delivery of his words, a little more variety of intonation would have helped in conveying his meaning more distinctly to those who formed the bulk of his congregation. But when he came to personal parts this was not needed. He made a kind allusion to me, very affecting to me; and when I was in this mood, and he came to the personal parts, touching himself and his new congregation, what he knew he ought to be to them and to do for them, what they should do for themselves, and earnestly besought their prayers, I was completely overcome, and weeping profusely.’

Two years later, Patteson, having been influenced by George Selwyn, the Bishop of Zealand, responded to what he took as a call from God to become a missionary. He travelled from Devon to assist in the work of the Melanesian Mission (which Selwyn had founded) to extend the Anglican Church from New Zealand to the islands to the north.

Patteson was a talented linguist who had studied Latin, Greek, German, Hebrew, and Arabic before arriving in the Pacific islands. He sailed around the islands preaching to the communities he discovered and setting up schools. He held a deep respect for the cultures and customs he encountered and proceeded to learn 23 of the local languages, even translating the Gospel of Luke into Mota. His ambition was to give the local children an understanding of Christian teaching and values so that they could lead the next generation.

Patteson was consecrated the first Bishop of Melanesia in 1861 and set up home on Norfolk Island in 1867. His own house (hardly a Palace!), served as a school, a mission station, and a chapel. He campaigned tirelessly to supress slavery and ‘blackbirding’ (kidnapping people to work as poorly paid labourers) that were commonplace in Melanesia. It wasn’t easy work. He suffered bouts of malaria and exhaustion as a result of travelling. On 20 September 1871, Patteson was aboard the missionary boat, the Southern Cross II. As they approached a Reef Island called Nakapu, Patteson took the decision to transfer to a native canoe and land alone on the island. Tragically, it was here that he received fatal wounds to the head. No one is quite sure exactly why Patteson was killed, but it is thought that it may have been a case of mistaken identity: a revenge killing for the abduction of five young men by blackbirders only days earlier. It is said that local people realised their mistake and treated his body with respect, covering it with palm leaves and sending it out to sea in a small boat where it was found by the crew of the Southern Cross II.

Although Patteson didn’t see his vision fully realised, his death had a significant impact. On hearing the news at home, the British Government stiffened its resolve to stamp out slavery in its Pacific territories. On the Islands themselves, Patteson’s legacy may be seen today. The church of St Barnabas was erected on Norfolk Island in 1882 in his memory. The ‘Bishop Patteson Theological College’ in the Solomon Islands is operated by the Anglican Church of Melanesia; and, in 1963 and 1975 respectively, the first Melanesian Bishops and Archbishop were consecrated. And, when you next visit Exeter cathedral, you will find that the Nave Pulpit is a memorial to Patteson. While the left-hand panel shows the death of St Alban, the first British martyr, the central panel of the pulpit shows the martyrdom of the very brave John Coleridge Patteson.