LMS Sends First Missionaries 10th August 1796
From Newsletter 12 – August 2006
Lucy Marshall, an enthusiastic family historian, has sent us an “Order of Service” that was a “Triple Jubilee Souvenir” produced on the occasion of a special church service held in Wellington, New Zealand, just on sixty years ago on Sunday 28th July 1946.
As most family members are aware, Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall embarked on The Duff on August 10th 1796 bound for Tahiti where they were to be part of a missionary group taking the Christian message to the Pacific Islanders. Their adventures and circumstances of their moving to Sydney are well documented in The Hassall Family.
The departure of the missionaries was preceded by a special “Valedictory” service in England on 28th July 1796 – the word ‘valedictory’ suggesting a ‘farewell after having been prepared’.
An entry in the Journal of the Duff gives details:
“August the 10th 1796, at six in the morning we weighed anchor and hoisted our missionary flag … three doves argent on a purple field bearing olive branches in their bills. The morning was serene, and a gentle breeze blew from the W.N.W.; few vessels were stirring in the river; all was still and quiet. The hymn, ‘Jesus at Thy command we launch into the deep’ was sung by upwards of on hundred voices … the sailors in the ships we passed heard with silent astonishment, and our friends who lined the banks of the river waved their hands and bade us a last adieu … “
We are not sure if Lucy Marshall was at the commemorative service in 1946 but thank her for sending us the souvenir Order of Service that also featured the depiction of the Duff featured opposite.
Image: The London Missionary Society’s ship Duff as it may have appeared to those farewelling it from the port of Blackwall on 10th August 1796 – from the Triple Jubilee Souvenir of service held in 1946.