Missionary ship en route to Vanuatu, South Pacific, ca.1890

“’Dayspring’ - the missionary ship of 160 tons. Loaded up and ready to start to settle four missionaries in the New Hebrides [Vanuatu] Islands. Captain Braithwaite in front; his wife on the left; bananas on the right. Mr. Paton has raised £9000 to buy a steamer. Calms constitute the great difficulty of New Hebrides sailing. Two former vessels were lost in calms.” ❧ Exterior view of the deck of the ship. John Gibson Paton (1824-1907), mentioned, was ordained in 1858. He and his wife, Mary Ann Robson (1840-1859), arrived at Aneityum [Anatom] on 30 August 1858. When he and his followers were forced to flea the island of Tanna in 1862, Paton was sent to the Australian colonies to promote the Presbyterian cause and to raise funds for a mission vessel. He raised interest and revenue by allowing Sunday-school children to become sixpenny shareholders in this new mission ship, Dayspring, built in Nova Scotia in 1863. Among Australian Presbyterians support for the New Hebrides mission became a popular cause, and Paton raised £5000.

‘晨曦号’（Dayspring）——这艘160吨级的传教船，已完成装载，即将启程前往新赫布里底群岛[瓦努阿图]，搭载四名传教士开展定居传教工作。画面中布雷思韦特船长立于前方，其妻子位于左侧，右侧摆放着香蕉。帕特森曾募集9000英镑用于购置一艘蒸汽船。无风静航是新赫布里底群岛航行的最大阻碍，此前已有两艘船只在此类无风状况下失事。❧ 该船甲板的外观视图。前文提及的约翰·吉布森·帕特森（John Gibson Paton，1824-1907）于1858年被按立为牧师。他与妻子玛丽·安·罗布森（Mary Ann Robson，1840-1859）于1858年8月30日抵达安尼特姆岛[阿诺托姆岛]。1862年，他与追随者被迫撤离塔纳岛，此后帕特森被派往澳大利亚各殖民地，宣传长老会传教事业并为传教船募集资金。他通过允许主日学校儿童以六便士的份额成为这艘新传教船‘晨曦号’股东的方式，募集了善款与关注度——该船于1863年在新斯科舍建造。在澳大利亚长老会信徒群体中，支持新赫布里底群岛传教事业成为一项热门议题，帕特森在此期间共募集到5000英镑。