Why Mangapai Attracted Settlers

During the mid-nineteenth century Mangapai was becoming an attractive location for European settlers. The district lies on a long inlet of Whangarei Harbour, which at that time functioned as the principal transport route of the region. Roads were few and often impassable, so produce and supplies were commonly moved by boat.

The harbour therefore provided farmers with a practical means of transporting goods to larger vessels bound for Auckland, the main commercial centre of the colony.

The land around Mangapai was also known for its fertile soils, well suited to orchards, grazing and mixed farming. Nearby Limestone Island, situated within Whangarei Harbour, had become an early industrial settlement after lime works were established there in the 1830s. By the later nineteenth century the island had a store, school and post office, making it an important local centre for supplies.

These conditions offered both economic opportunity and a field for ministry, and they likely influenced Theophilus’s decision to settle in the area.

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Settlement at Mangapai

After settling at Mangapai, Theophilus opened the first Methodist Church/School there on September 18, 1862. His salary was fifty pounds per year.

About the same time two brothers, Frederick John Snell and William Charles Snell, who had been students at the Eythorne school in 1851, also migrated to New Zealand and settled in the Whangarei district.

In 1868, Frederick John Snell married Edith Theophilia Hewlett, the second eldest daughter of Theophilus and Emily.

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Lay Reader in the Anglican Church

In 1870 Theophilus became a licensed lay reader in the Maungakaramea District, Diocese of Auckland, of the Anglican Church.

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Death of His Wife

On April 13, 1874, his wife Emily died at Mangapai after a long illness.

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Ordination and Ministry

In February 1881, Theophilus was made a deacon by the Bishop, in the presence of Archdeacons Maunsell and Pitt.

He was over sixty years of age when he was ordained. He became a deacon licensed to assistant curacy in the same district. Because of his age, he did not take a salary, requesting instead to be treated as a theological student, which he was.

Later that same year, he was ordained a priest at St. Sepulchre’s Church, continuing his ministry at Mangapai for a further four years.

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The Mangapai Farm

In the following year, he purchased the farm on which the family were living at Mangapai for £410, started the first school in the area, and became the first minister of the Mangapai Church.

In 1870, he and his eldest son, William, bought Hewlett Point from D. C. Wilson, his son-in-law.[iv]

Theophilus and his family planted an extensive orchard, sending produce to Auckland. There was no road to the property, so the family frequently travelled by boat across the harbour to the nearest settlement at Limestone Island for supplies.[v]

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Limestone Island

At that time, the island contained a store, a school, and a post office. It had originally been inhabited by Māori people, and the first European house was built there in 1832. In 1838, part of the island was leased from the local Māori tribe, and a lime works was established using the local limestone. By the late nineteenth century the island had around two hundred inhabitants. Today it is a conservation area.

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Transport of Produce

The wool from the farm was transported by boat. It was sledged down to the beach at low tide and rolled onto a barge. When the tide came in, the barge was towed out to a vessel of the Northern Steamship Company, loaded, and taken to Auckland to be sold.

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Later Ministry

In 1886, Theophilus became one of the Home Mission Clergy. For nine years he travelled through surrounding districts and also served as assistant chaplain to Costly Home, Epsom.

He retired in 1894. During his years of ministry, his work was greatly appreciated, and when he resigned, settlers from the districts he had visited subscribed nearly one hundred pounds as a parting gift.

In the same year, the Diocese in Synod passed a resolution expressing appreciation for the valuable services long and faithfully rendered by Mr Hewlett, and expressing the hope that he might enjoy the rest and retirement he had so well earned.

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Retirement

During his retirement, Theophilus lived for periods with several of his children:

• Emily, married to Daniel Cook Wilson, in Whangarei

• Edith, married to Frederick John Snell, in Maungakaramea

• Esther, married to Rev. Edward Bree

• His son Rev. Oswald Hewlett, then curate of Onehunga
   

A Family Tragedy

In 1900, just five months before the death of Theophilus, tragedy struck the family when his eldest son William drowned while obtaining provisions from the island.

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Death

Shortly before his death on June 19, 1900, his son Oswald, then Vicar of Papakura, was summoned and administered Holy Communion to him. Also present at his death was Frederick John Snell, his son-in-law and former pupil from the Eythorne school.

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Funeral

His funeral took place on June 21, 1900. The service was conducted partly in the church at Maungakaramea and partly at the graveside in the Mangapai Cemetery by the Rev. L. Cubitt of Whangarei.

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Notes & Sources

[1] Clergy Orphan School for Boys, St John’s Wood, London, and Canterbury, Kent (www.childrenshomes.org.uk). Viewed October 5, 2022. 

[2] A daughter of William Elvin and Hannah Masterson Boult.

[3] A Preceptress is a manager of the students and a keeper of their moral values.

[4] The farm, consisting of 580 acres, is now owned and managed by one of his descendants, Sarah Hewlett, her husband Chris Coffey, and their sons Noah and Jasper.

Northern Farming Lifestyles, May 2016.