Henry Williams himself wrote to a friend on June 24th, 1842:
“The Bishop is now in my house having landed after dark on Monday evening last. We were all taken by surprise and put into an immediate bustle. I was delighted to see his face and to hear him speak and was relieved from many forebodings. I have seen very much of this good man during the few days of his sojourn amongst us. We have spoken freely upon various subjects in connexion with the Mission, and it is very remarkable that in no one instance have we had a contrary idea. He so fully enters into our views upon all missionary points, that I am at times under some apprehension of forgetting that he is our Bishop.... We are all of us delighted at the knowledge the Bishop has obtained of our language. He can to the surprise of all converse with ease and directness. The Bishop observes moreover that he shall require all his clergy to acquire the language, that they may attend to the natives.... I feel fully satisfied to leave all the affairs of the Mission or my own as a missionary in his hands.”
In another letter he writes:
“He has captivated every heart by his kindness and courteous manners.... I am persuaded that nothing will escape his notice, however trifling the circumstance.... He is now going to make a tour of the Island visiting every station.”
Of his first Sunday at Paihai the Bishop himself writes:
“I administered the Lord’s Supper to one hundred and fifty native communicants and was much struck with their orderly and reverential demeanour. All were dressed in European clothing, and, with the exception of their colour, presented the appearance of an English congregation.”
The Bishop spent several days with this experienced missionary learning all he could from him about the condition of the country, about the complicated land question, and about the different mission stations. All that he observed and learned helped him to mature his plans for the future. He had chosen to be called Bishop of New Zealand because he did not wish, by taking the title for his see from one particular settlement to provoke the jealousy of others. But it was necessary to decide where he should fix his residence. The New Zealand Company wished him to go to Wellington where they had secured a great deal of land and the agent went so far as to tell him that if he decided to settle at Auckland, instead of being looked upon by them with affectionate regard as their best friend, he would be regarded coldly as a prop of a rival settlement. Auckland was then the seat of government, though what was in a few years to become a beautiful city was still only a cluster of huts. Lady Martin described it as follows:
“Government House was only a one-storied cottage standing back from the road. A few wooden houses were dotted about, in which the Government officials lived. There were wooden barracks which contained about fifty soldiers; a supreme court-house, where the Judge held his court in the week, and which on Sundays was used as a church; a milliner’s shop, a blacksmith’s forge, and two or three stores. Butcher and baker were unknown, there was no beef or mutton to sell, and no roads for carts to travel along had there been.”
The climate was genial and the situation beautiful, and the Bishop hoped that Auckland might be the future cathedral city. For the moment, however, it seemed best that he should settle at the Waimate on the Bay of Islands. It had been the first headquarters of the C.M.S. mission and the Bishop went to inspect it immediately on his arrival in New Zealand. He described it as follows:
“I walked round the mission station and inspected Mr. Clarke’s house, which I decided would accommodate Sarah and such of the party as I might leave with her. The house is a little out of repair.... The garden has been overrun with cattle, but most of the plants are still alive, and with a little care may soon recover.... Seen from a distance the Waimate presents the appearance of an English village with a white church and spire, comfortable houses and gardens. This is by far the most settled place in the country. I am informed that four hundred native communicants assemble at the Lord’s Table. This will probably be my headquarters for some years, till I can deliberately choose a site for my residence and erect substantial buildings.”