Forgive, for Jesus’ Sake!
When The Salvation Army ‘opened fire’ in the streets of Gisborne on Sunday 31 October 1886, 41-year-old Maraea Moana Mahaki Morris listened at the edge of the crowd. Hesitating at first, she found her courage and followed Captain Holdaway into Whineray’s Hall. As he read from the Bible, hope began to stir within her.
Twenty-three years earlier, Maraea had married Pera Taihuka, but just five years later the couple were tragically caught up in the Matawhero massacre. Maraea was subjected to the shocking trauma of her husband’s execution at the hands of the dissident warlord Te Kooti Arikirangi. Held captive, Maraea witnessed further atrocities upon both settlers and Māori, and was even chosen by lot as a human sacrifice herself before escaping.
Plagued by a ‘terrible blackness’ and intent on revenge, Maraea searched far and wide for Te Kooti over the next 18 years, but he eluded her. Returning to Gisborne in 1885, Maraea was dejected and in desperate need of hope and light. When the ‘not-so-mad’ Salvation Army arrived the following year, she was one of the first converts.
‘Twenty-six days after the Army begun in Gisborne, I came forward and knelt at the front. They all prayed for me, but it was no good; my heart was stubborn. I went home and prayed. What a miserable week I had! Then the captain came and talked with me, and I told him some of my story about my husband’s death. He saw that I was still so angry. “Could you, can you, forgive Te Kooti for Jesus’ sake?” he asked. “No!” I almost shouted. “No!” But he went ahead and prayed for me. I pardoned Te Kooti, and I felt my own sins were forgiven from that moment and I knew I was saved. After this, I began to understand my Bible, read the hymns and I prayed constantly. I was so happy.’
Maraea was completely transformed, with God calling her to share the gospel with her own people. By this time, many Māori had succumbed to various European diseases while others were falling prey not only to the musket but to waipiro (stinking water). Traditionally abstinent, alcohol was having a highly detrimental impact on Māori. Furthermore, the land wars had weakened Māori trust in Christian missionaries, with many becoming disillusioned in their faith. But radically saved Maraea wore both
her traditional moko and Salvation Army uniform with pride.
Described as both ‘radiant’ and a ‘veritable terror to evildoers’, Maraea boldly carried the Gisborne Salvation Army flag and became highly respected. She testified repeatedly at the barracks, on the streets of Gisborne and then right across the country. In 1890, she travelled to Melbourne and shared her story at Congress, concluding with, ‘The God who saved me yonder in New Zealand is able to save you’.
Maraea died seven years later in 1907, spending the last days of her life on tribal land at Ruangarehu, Te Karaka.
