Guide to the Journals and Letters of Reverend Robert H. Codrington (as filmed by the AJCP), 1867-1882

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Summary

Collection number:

M993 - M994

Creator:

Codrington, Robert H., Reverend

Extent:

8 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the School of Oriental and African Studies and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Ranjang poems, 1783, School of Oriental and African Studies (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla-obj-1379824672)

Availability:

Available

Background

Content Summary:

Three journals 1872-1875, describing Codrington's travels in Melanesia, life among the Mota people, slave trading, and island legends, customs and crafts. The killing of Lieut. James H.C. Bower of HMS Sandfly in 1880 is described in the third journal.

The letters 1867-1882 were written to Codrington's brother Tom and give detailed descriptions of: life on Norfolk Island; travels in Melanesia; the impact of European culture on island life; and the death of Bishop J.C. Patteson. They reveal his interest in anthropology and language.

Biographical / Historical:

Robert Henry Codrington (1830-1922), the son of Reverend Thomas Codrington, was born at Wroughton, Wiltshire. He was educated at Charterhouse and Wadham College at Oxford University, graduating with a Master of Arts in 1856. He was a fellow of Wadham College from 1855 to 1893. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1857. He was a curate at the parish of St Peter-in-the East, Oxford, where the priest was Edmund Hobhouse. In 1858 Hobhouse became the first bishop of Nelson, New Zealand, and Codrington followed him to Nelson in 1860. He served on the Collingwood goldfields in 1860-61 and then worked in the diocese of Nelson. In 1863 he accompanied Bishop John Patteson on a cruise on the Southern Cross to the islands north of New Zealand. He joined the Melanesian Mission in 1865.

In 1867 the Mission moved from Auckland to Norfolk Island, where Codrington worked for twenty years. During that time he went on several cruises to the Banks Islands and the Solomon Islands, but he was a poor sailor and preferred to spend most of his time at Norfolk Island. He was in charge of the Mission school which taught boys from the islands who went on, in many cases, to be teachers, deacons and priests. Following the death of Bishop Patteson in 1871, Codrington declined offers of the bishopric, but he was in charge of the Mission until John Selwyn was ordained as the second bishop in 1877. Codrington played a leading role in the design and construction of St Barnabas's Church on Norfolk Island, built as a memorial to Bishop Patteson, which was consecrated in 1880.

Codrington was one of the most scholarly members of the Melanesian Mission. He had a great knowledge of the languages of Melanesia and compiled grammars of about 35 languages. His book The Melanesian languages was published in Oxford in 1885. He was fascinated by the cultural diversity of Melanesia and, encouraged by the anthropologists Lorimer Fison and Edward Tylor, he recorded in great detail the rules and customs of Melanesians, their religious and spiritual beliefs, material culture, music and games. He continued his studies after he returned to England in 1888. His book The Melanesians: studies in their anthropology and folk-lore was published in 1891 and, with John Palmer as co-author, his Dictionary of the language of Mota appeared in 1895.

Codrington was vicar of Wadhurst in Sussex from 1887 to 1893 and prebendary of Chichester Cathedral from 1888 to 1895. He lectured at Chichester Theological College for many years. He visited Norfolk Island in 1892 and maintained an extensive correspondence in Mota with many of his former students.

Reference: Allan K. Davidson. The legacy of Robert Henry Codrington, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, vol. 27 (4), Oct. 2003, pp 171-76.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the School of Oriental and African Studies.