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Adventism in the South Pacific
The early missionaries who introduced the Seventh-day Adventist message in the South Pacific often gave their lives for their beliefs. The hope-filled message they proclaimed gave them courage to face many challenges. Our South Pacific heritage is based on their stories. Their early decisions made a big impact on the work and influence of the Adventist Church in the region.
See below to find out the history of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific or select a country from the left for the history of each country.
...you can view a Solomon Island war canoe that is more than 100 years old at the South Sea Islands Museum in Cooranbong, New South Wales?
> The museum also displays ceremonial initiation hats, war clubs and items used by devil priests in human sacrifices. These items have been given by people who converted to Christianity.
> Location: 27 Avondale Road, Cooranbong, New South Wales, 2265. The museum is open Saturday to Thursday and entry is by donation.
The beginnings of the Adventist movement in the South Pacific
John Tay, an early pioneer, lands at Pitcairn Island in 1886, only to find the islanders there had already received Adventist literature sent from America almost a decade before. Many of the Pitcairners were already convinced of Adventist teachings, and so it only took Tay about five weeks to win the whole island over to the basic Adventist beliefs. Pitcairn now has few Adventist inhabitants, but the richness of its history remains. Tay's story inspired the Adventist church in North America and people began raising money to build a boat for the work in the South Pacific. In October 1890, the two-masted, 31-metre long schooner, Pitcairn, was ready to sail.
The Pitcairn travelled from island to island, distributing literature and providing much-needed medical treatment. The Pitcairn visited the Cook Islands, only to discover there were already Christians there worshipping on the same day (Saturday) as the Adventists. The Cook Islands had chosen to ignore the International Date Line agreement of 1884. The country continued to observe the days of the week as shown by missionaries of the London Missionary Society. So, the issue of the Sabbath wasn't a cause of distinction.
The Pitcairn made six successful voyages to the South Pacific before the church decided to sell it.
The church then turned to Avondale College to train missionaries who could work in the South Pacific. With the help of these missionaries, the church established schools, training colleges and medical facilities in countries such as Fiji, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and French Polynesia.
Through patience, perseverance and personal sacrifice, these early missionaries transformed the lives of the people of the South Pacific and allowed them to hear of the life-changing messages of Jesus.
View the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in -
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