The title image portrays the Canton Villages Mission Coat of Arms designed by the Rev A. Don. Light from the Cross overturns the images of Bhuddha and the 'Thousand - handed Kwanyin'; the dragon and a band of demons flee; while a Christian scholar stands in wonder. The Cantonese script reads "To Open Their Eyes, To Turn From Darkness To Light" , taken from Acts XXVI., verse 18.
 
 

The Rev Alexander Don, our pioneer European Missionary to the New Zealand Chinese during the late 19th Century,  noted that four out of every five NZ Chinese came from villages near Canton. He foresaw vast opportunities for Christian evangelism in South China, assisted by the relationship of trust built up with the NZ Chinese gold miners, many of whom would later return back home.

During 1896 to 1897, Rev Don returned to Canton with instructions from the Presbyterian Synod of Otago and Southland "To arrange if feasible for placing a Missionary of our own in South China". Although foreigners were generally mistrusted here ( the words "Fan kwai", meaning literally "Foreign Devils" was frequently heard), Rev Don was on the whole well received due to his contact with family members working on the NZ gold fields.
Upon his return to NZ, and with his typical energy and enthusiasm, he travelled widely, giving public lectures (illustrated with a map and his own glass lantern slide images of South China), encouraging support for the foundation of the "Canton Villages Mission". He wrote the Mission motto which included his basic aim of evangelizing one Million Chinese souls (who were "depending on us for their evangelization").

The Rev George McNeur became the first Missionary to South China. He travelled with Rev Don on one of his gruelling 2000 mile "Inland Tours" around the Otago and Southland Chinese settlements. Photographs were taken of Rev McNeur with the Chinese to act as an introduction to their families back in China. Gold sovereigns and letters were also entrusted to him to safely deliver to their families.

Rev McNeur arrived in Canton in 1901 and immediately headed for the Poon Yue District just north of Canton where the majority of Chinese gold miners came from. His arrival brought an interested response among the villages. The receipts for the sovereigns carefully signed for by the family members in China still survive. Joined by the Rev William Mawson in 1903, they set up a Mission base at Fong Ts'uen at Canton where other European Missions were based. They could then make periodic visits to the villages until such time as chapels were built and preachers appointed.

The Poon Yue had been under the control of the American Presbyterian Mission, but control of this area including the Fa District was handed over to the NZ Mission in 1903 after the APM had experienced little success.

The work of Christian Evangelism was difficult and discouraging, despite the promising opening. Rev Mawson wrote of these early years that "A few are friendly; many hate us; while a still larger number politely tolerate us...." . In some ways the Missionaries were often afforded more courtesy and respect than that given to the NZ Chinese by the Europeans.

There was an acute need for further Evangelists and helpers to aid the work, and as early as 1902 the reports from China encouraged a number of willing young women of the Church to put their names forward for service in the mission field. Subject to available financial resources, a large number of women went out over the ensuing years, the first two in 1905 being Miss Margaret Anderson and Miss Jane Mawson.

The interest of a medical student encouraged the Mission to look at opening a medical program and Dr Joseph Ings was sent to Edinburgh for further training prior to going out to China with high hopes as our first Medical Missionary to this land. After 6 months a tragic cablegram (in itself a marvel that such a facility existed at this time from China) arrived in Dunedin informing the Committee that Dr Ings had succumbed to a tropical related illness and died after just six short months of service. Providentially, this tragic event encouraged a fellow Medical Student of Dr Ings, Dr John Kirk of Edinburgh, to offer to take his place. His brother Dr Edward Kirk followed him in 1909.  Within a short time the medical programme advanced on a scale not previously contemplated and went from strength to strength until the large Po Wai Hospital ("Hospital of Universal Love") opened at Kong Chuen in 1918. The influence of Dr John Kirk considerably furthered the Mission Medical cause.

Financial support for the ever increasing band of Missionaries, Evangelists, Doctors, and Nurses was always a heavy burden, influenced over the years by economic conditions in New Zealand, other more pressing Missionary projects and the ever changing International exchange rate made financial planning somewhat problematic. In order to further the Missionary cause and to lift the financial burden somewhat, various congregations, Women's missionary organizations, as well as the Young Women's and Young Men's Bible Class Movements decided to support their "Own Missionary", becoming solely responsible for their salary and allowances.

The Mission eventually purchased a suitable site in the town of Ko Tong north of Canton for a Chapel, Hospital, dispensary and small residence for the Doctor. Purchase of land in China by foreigners proved to be a protracted affair involving a Chinese middle man. Once the purchase price was paid, legal title was often not registered for some years and more than once "re-registration" was necessary. Added to this, most Chinese land was of small and irregular shape, so that more than one owner needed to be approached to obtain anything like a reasonable sized section.

Due to the limits on expansion at Ko Tong and the unsatisfactory nature of the surrounding area (pigs were kept in a neighbouring building and the area was deemed unsanitary), a large area of land was finally purchased near Kong Ts'uen (Kong Cheun) Village about 1914. With the funds raised by the Laymen's Missionary Society's "Every Member Campaign" in 1913, a large 100 bed hospital & nursing school was built, together with four residences for Missionaries, Doctors and Nurses. Later on, a Conference Centre and the Tak Kei Girls' Boarding School were added. The Mission buildings stood in the middle of open rice fields, surrounded by a fence to protect the residents from bandits who roamed the countryside and harassed the Chinese villages. These were surrounded by walls and generally also had a fortified tower to give some measure of security. This enclosed compound, although freely open to all visitors  led the Mission to be viewed by the Chinese as insular and secretive, a view equally shared by our Missionaries in it's final years.

A staggering £15,000 had been spent on building operations between 1914 and 1917. Also, by 1920, the sheer size of the Mission with its New Zealand as well as Chinese staff were such that the drain on financial resources began to limit them reaching its full potential. The estimated financial outlay for 1920 to 1921 was £10,940. The Hospital charged a nominal fee to those who could pay, but the Chinese congregations were unable to support themselves to any great degree and remained dependant on the Mission. The number of Christian converts never justified the expense and the Missions initial high hopes were never fulfilled. But despite this, the unsettled economic conditions and frequent lawlessness with some personal risk, there is a confidence and optimism in the Missionaries' reports. Without doubt, however, the Canton Villages Mission had a quality about it that did much to secure for it the generous support of the Church and it's members.

The primary aim of the Mission was to found a self - supporting, self - governing, and self - propagating Church. The primary focus lay with Evangelism, and the educational and medical activities of the Mission supported the basic missions aim.

Boarding schools for children were set up in order to give children a good Christian based education away from adverse non-Christian influences. For those who attained high educational proficiency, they were encouraged to become teachers to their own people.

The Medical work was based on 'Medical Evangelism', assisting the Chinese with medical ailments, operations, child birth and care, health education, dispensary and outpatient work, all the time teaching Christian values and preaching.

Evangelistic work by the Missionary men and women included visiting larger and outlying towns and Chapels, villages and settlements preaching the Gospel, and individual family and personal visitations to enquirers and new converts. Religious Tracts were freely handed out and scriptures sold for a nominal amount. Transport was generally by 'chair' (being carried on a chair by two Chinese coolies), by foot, or by boat along the rivers. Some of the hill terrain covered was by narrow and winding age - old paths and across the rice fields by well - used narrow paths of heaped earth between each flooded field.

During the hot season, a temporary camp was set up on Lan Tau Mountain near the Hong Kong coast with cooling breezes and a relaxed atmosphere living in thatched huts, and later in holiday residences at Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong bay. Every seven years the Missionaries had one years furlough (leave) back to New Zealand. This was a gruelling regime for any Missionary faced with weeks of 'deputation work' with relentless touring drumming up support for the Missionary cause.
Sadly, tropical illnesses and the strain of constant pressure of work led to a high proportion of Missionaries and their children being sent home early, some virtually at death's door. Tuberculosis was the cause of more than one death of Missionaries and Mission children.

A close working relationship developed with the other Protestant Missions around Canton, especially after about 1914 when Mission work in most areas was arranged on a more systematic and productive basis. At this point the CVM withdrew from part of it's original area to concentrate it's energies closer to its base around Canton. Union schemes were supported financially by the NZ Church, and in many cases our Mission staff were appointed to full or part time Union positions. Such Union activities included Medical Education, a Girls' School, and a Theological Training School.

The years 1925 and 1926 brought an intense anti - Foreign, anti - British and anti - Christian campaign throughout China. The Missionaries were forced to withdraw from Kong Chuen to British Hong Kong three times and only returned after agreeing to the drastic measure of handing over control of the Mission's activities to a Chinese controlled Synod - 'The Kwantung Synod of the Church of Christ in China'. This also included the other Missions. It was always the intention for this to occur, but events precipitated this move by a number of years. This initial arrangement meant that tact and grace was required by both sides to achieve a proper working relationship and it is to the credit of the able Synod staff that a successful partnership evolved.

From the early 1930s, the number of Missionaries on the field had dropped to 12, a result of economic depression and financial stringency in New Zealand. A high Chinese currency value for financial remittances and a crippling NZ Government 25% "tax" on overseas remittances to save hard earned foreign exchange were added burdens. It was even discussed whether silver could be bought, shipped to China and re - sold to obtain a better return as well as temporarily borrowing on investments held by the Church of Scotland in Britain, to be repaid later when financial conditions improved. A comprehensive NZ Presbyterian Church General Assembly budget had reduced the opportunities for special Foreign Mission appeals and priorities were set nationally alongside other Presbyterian Church causes requiring Church funding.

The tempo on the Mission field slowed as a result, however there was still no lack of willing volunteers for Mission service to China. A long awaited moment came in 1930 when Dr Kathleen Pih returned to China, the land of her birth, as a Doctor at Kong Chuen Mission Hospital, the first NZ trained women Doctor to go to the Mission. Generally Missionaries had to undertake two years of language study in China prior to commencing Mission work, so losses of staff through illness or furlough could be crippling.
The hope and enthusiasm of 1901 had been tempered by the sober realization of the difficulties inherent in the task and an awareness of new difficulties beginning to appear on the horizon.

It is indeed salutary to read that after 30 years of Missionary activity in South China, the total Communicant membership was only 260 - "the seeming failure of many a cherished plan and promising beginning". The lack of converts was not unique to our Mission. Lack of staff and crippling financial stringency affected everyone's ability to carry on the same level of work and expand to take up promising opportunities. Also, Christian converts in villages found themselves the object of hostility and persecution and it was usually only a matter of time before they relented or moved away to a more understanding area. Local Church congregations never grew beyond a certain point.

In 1936, the Rev Henry Gilbert, a member of the Foreign Missions Committee took a number of reels of 16mm cine film showing the work of the Canton Villages Mission. This was subsequently shown in New Zealand to encourage support for the Mission. Although a black and white copy with a reasonable part of this film has survived, the original film, which was largely filmed in Kodak colour, was apparently sent to the Kwantung Synod for their use and all trace of it was subsequently lost.

The tragic and needless death of Dr Owen Eaton at the hand of bandits who broke into the Mission compound in 1939 left the Mission without a qualified NZ Mission Doctor for the first time in its history. The International Red Cross provided  Dr George Grätzer, a refugee Roman Catholic Austrian National, of Jewish blood, a most fortuitous appointment.

In 1931 Sr Annie James had moved to the small town of Kaii Hau, deep in the Ts'ung Fa Hills 40 miles north of Kong Chuen, where she ran a small but busy cottage hospital. This style of village and medical evangelism proved very successful, living and working closely among the people she loved. Church members started an 'unofficial' subscription to purchase her a much needed car which the Church begrudgingly consented to. Her black Ford V8 car with its white cross on the radiator speeding along the dusty Ts'ung Fa roads became a very familiar sight.

Japanese Imperial Forces invaded China in July 1937. Japan never termed it a war, merely  'The China Incident'. They reached Canton in 1938, proceeded by the aerial bombing of Canton, neighbouring towns and strategic Military points, bombs even falling in and around the Mission compound having fallen short of their mark being the local railway. The old market town of Ko Tong, the old Mission base, was reduced to rubble by bombs and fire.

The Tak Kei Mission Girls' Boarding School was transferred to Portuguese Macau in September 1938 due to the risk from bombing and operated there until 1942. In 1943, the school was reopened at Sam Kong in Lin Yuen (Free China) and operated there until 1946 as the Lin Yuen Tak Kei School.

Mission work continued but under ever increasing restrictions and the lack of qualified Chinese Evangelists who had left prior to the arrival of the Japanese fearing for their lives. During the Japanese advance with constant battles between the Japanese forces and the Koumintang as well as enemy bombing raids, the British Consul - General asked Sr Annie James to leave Kaii Hau as her safety could not be guaranteed. Her courage in danger and determination to continue her work is spite of all difficulties won her the M.B.E.

A Japanese Army guard was placed on the Kong Chuen compound, a photo remains of a Missionary standing beside the Japanese guard titled "Our Friend, the Enemy". On a trip from Canton to Kong Chuen bringing back supplies, it was normal for the car or truck to be inspected by Japanese Guards at a number of points on the road, often insisting that everything be turned out for inspection. It was a lengthy business requiring untold patience. Resistance or argument was utterly futile and would only have delayed matters further and lead to confiscation of the precious goods or imprisonment for insubordination. The Japanese tolerated the Mission but did not encourage it.

A Chinese refugee camp opened at Kong Chuen, and in one year 48 tons of rice was distributed. This helped to reduce old long - standing barriers and prejudices held by the Chinese through a practical demonstration of the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan. The Japanese authorities closed the camp in 1943 due to the lack of available rice and funding.

The Mission was renamed "The South China Mission" in 1938 to more accurately reflect its changing focus.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in December 1941 produced a consequent Declaration of War with Japan. As a result, nine Missionaries suddenly became 'Enemy Aliens' and were placed in Internment camps in Canton, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It was to be about October 1945 before they were released.

Conditions at the Canton Internment Camp (actually the premises of the Oriental Mission), which included other Missionaries and foreign nationals were reasonably strict but not exceedingly harsh. However as the war dragged on, their food supplies lessened to a serious level and Red Cross parcels did not always arrive when they should have. Missionaries were permitted under guard to attend a German (but anti - Nazi) Dentist in Canton who always managed to discreetly acquaint them with the latest war news. The Swiss Consul - General in Canton, Mr Hoffmeister, took a personal interest in the internees and did what he could for them including providing a monthly financial allowance on behalf of the British Government for purchases of food in the camp which was at inflated prices. This money was later repaid by the Church to the British Government.
Interestingly, members of the Chinese staff at Kong Chuen hospital would regularly come and wave to the interned Missionaries from a nearby hill to see that all was well. This carried on for the duration of the war and interned Missionaries from other countries were deeply envious of the NZ Missionaries, wishing that their own Chinese staff had bothered to take as much trouble.

Conditions at the Stanley Internment Camp at Hong Kong, however,  were always relatively harsh. One of our internees, Dr Alistair Loan, as well as a previous Canton Villages Mission Doctor, Dr Edward Kirk, both assisted with medical care among the internees.

The Rev Herbert and Mrs Margaret Davies were interned together in Shanghai in the hope of being repatriated to New Zealand under a one-off exchange, however this never occurred. They were interned with a large number of elderly foreign nationals and provided much needed Pastoral care for them. Conditions were relatively relaxed, however as with all our internees, they also suffered from malnutrition.

The only Missionary to escape interment was Sr Annie James who had faithfully remained at Kaii Hau, an act of self - sacrifice never forgotten by her Chinese friends. This loyalty may in fact have saved her life during her final few months in China. She and her Chinese followers sought refuge among the hills on many occasions before venturing back to Kaii Hau which appears to have been in something of a 'no man's land', sometimes under Koumintang control, sometimes Japanese control. Each time she returned she found her cottage hospital ransacked but still standing, despite the loss of almost all surrounding buildings. From this fact she took great spiritual comfort.

Dr George Grätzer, being considered "German", was allowed to continue the Mission Hospital and outpatient work and diligently carried on as best he could during the war years. Many restrictions were still placed on his medical work by the Japanese authorities. The Japanese military finally took over the hospital buildings towards the end of the war, forcing Dr Grätzer and his faithful Chinese staff to withdraw to a local village. The NZ Church tried various methods to get funding to him and to Sr Annie James for supplies. They also endeavoured to financially support the Church of Christ in China which had moved south to Free China, but communication was difficult not to mention the difficulties and uncertainties of remitting funds. Some funds were sent and it appears that some remittances got through. Even letters could take over 12 months to reach their destination, if at all. All word was lost of Sr James for a couple of years and the New Zealand Church feared greatly for her safety.

At the end of internment in Canton, the Japanese Camp Commander curiously insisted on a group photograph being taken of them all together, their captors now dressed in civilian clothes. The Missionaries asked that no charges be brought against their captors. A final meal was shared together and both sides parted company on good terms. Conversely, conditions at Stanley Camp in Hong Kong had always been harsh and their captors were charged for their cruelties.
The Japanese military forces were required to remain at their posts until the liberating forces were in a position to relieve them which meant that Japanese soldiers and military staff were still very evident and in control up to a number of weeks after the cessation of hostilities.
The interned Missionaries found upon their release that the Missions Committee had continued to pay their normal salarys which had mounted up to a considerable sum over the years, some small but welcome recompense for their troubles.

At the end of the war in 1945, the Chinese Church was in disarray and in dire need of practical and financial assistance to rebuild. While wishing to be free of outside assistance and what sometimes seemed like foreign interference, they could not do without the presence and practical support of the foreign missions at this time.
The NZ Mission suffered the loss of 9 out of its 10 chapels and the destruction of the holiday homes at Cheung Chau. A Koumintang Guerilla leader, General Ng saved the intact Kong Chuen hospital and compound from being ransacked immediately after the Japanese withdrawal. The NZ Church sent him a gift of a kauri desk in gratitude.
Slowly, and especially after the interned Missionaries had returned from their long overdue furloughs in NZ, the program of Christian Evangelization, Children's education and Bible training began again in earnest. The veteran Missionary Miss Frances Ogilvie wrote : "Far more doors are open than there are devoted, capable, Christian Ministers, Doctors, Teachers, and laymen to enter".

During 1949, Chinese Communist forces rapidly gained control of Northern China and reached Canton in October which had previously been in Nationalist Koumintang hands. All Missionaries were advised to leave and some did so, but a dedicated band of NZ Missionaries remained including the intrepid Sr Annie James who was back at Kaii Hau. While the work was not stopped, a number of impediments instigated by the Communist authorities limited the Missions' effectiveness. Communist influences even filtered into the Tak Kei Girls' Boarding School at Kong Chuen and Miss Wong Sau K'au, the Chinese Principal who had served faithfully since the late 1920's, promptly resigned in the face of this new phenomenon questioning her authority.
While Church members back in NZ were concerned about the welfare of its Missionaries during the Communist take-over, Rev Jansen was fascinating by the experience and gave the Communist regime some credit where due, especially for finally stamping out the age old problem of lawlessness. To some extent the old Nationalist Party, while pro - Christian, was corrupt, wrought by factions and had lost its ability to effectively govern what remained of the country.
By the end of 1950, when foreign assistance in China was being actively discouraged by the Communist authorities, it became obvious that the presence of the NZ Missionaries had become an embarrassment to the Chinese Church. Once the decision had been made to withdraw, it was no simple matter to leave the country. Official procedures to obtain exit visas were curiously difficult and prolonged. But by April 1951, all but Annie James had exited China.

Sr Annie James was imprisoned on trumped up charges by the communist authorities from February to May 1951 at Kaii Hau in a tiny cell and faced regular interrogations and malnutrition. She credited her Christian faith with giving her the strength to carry on. The people of the Ts'ung Fa refused to support any of the various false charges laid against her including official accusations levelled at her by the unscrupulous and unqualified local Doctor, Dr Taam Yat - To. He believed he had lost valuable business because of her presence and had a score to settle. Eventually she had to be released. To facilitate this, she was required to sign an admission of guilt which praised the Communist authorities for protecting her, saving her from the anger of the people (!), and finding solutions for all her 'problems'. With nothing to gain by refusing to sign this statement and nothing to lose by signing it, she duly executed this shameful document designed to humiliate her. She was then released and left for Hong Kong and safety to recuperate from her ordeal.

Thus ended the NZ Presbyterian Mission South China Mission. The total cost of setting up and running the Mission from its inception in 1901 until 1951 was £334,786 with £44,368 of this amount spent on buildings. Over these fifty years, 50 Missionaries had been sent out to China.

The Overseas Missions Committee Director, the Rev J Stan Murray, wrote in 1969 :
"The Mission had been served by some of the ablest Missionaries the Church had known, yet the Missions Committee were deeply conscious of the gap between the Missions hopes and it's measurable realizations.
All this served to challenge the Church and shake it out of any mood of complacency, and to examine anew both the motives and methods of all their Missionary activities. The General Assembly nonetheless still recorded it's gratitude for the great privilege the Church had enjoyed in ministering to the Chinese people for nearly half a century and for the devoted service of all it's Missionaries, some of whom laid down their lives in the work".

For long serving Chinese staff, the New Zealand Church paid them an annual pension, including the long - serving Miss Wong, and Miss Yam, a teacher at Tak Kei Girls' School who was a blind but valued teacher.

It was truly a saddening experience to find doors that finally appeared to be opening wider than before, suddenly being closed. However, new doors opened as refugees began to stream into Hong Kong from Communist China creating a social need for Missions as well as being based in a politically stable and supportive Christian British colony. The Church of Christ in China set up anew in Hong Kong and invited participation from New Zealand.  And so began the Hong Kong Mission.
 
 

Donald Cochrane, PCANZ Archives, June 2001

Resources used in writing this history :

- PCANZ Missions manuscript material
- "A Century of Growth" by Rev JS Murray (1969)
- "I Went Out Not Knowing", by Sr A Lilburne (1994)
- "The Story of the Canton Villages Mission", by NZ Foreign Missions Committee (1928)
- "The Teeth of the Dragon", by Roy Belmer (1964)
- "Jade Engraved", by Rev EG Jansen (1947)