Proceedings of the Synod of the Diocese of Waiapu

The first Waiapu Diocesan Synod was held in 1862 “Nga Mahi a Te Hinota Tuatahi o Te Pihopatanga o Waiapu, and the following ones in were held in 1863, 1864 and 1865.  These were recorded in the Māori language as participants were mostly Māori.

In 1865, with growing unrest in the area, Bishop Williams moved his school from the mission base at Waerenga-a hika to the Bay of Islands, where he stayed until January 1867, when he moved his headquarters to Napier.

The 1868 General Synod subsequently moved the Waiapu Diocesan boundaries to include the Bay of Plenty (and therefore Napier), which had been a part of the Diocese of Wellington.

The next session of synod wasn't held until 1872 when the language became English and synod members were mostly Pākehā. In 1868, the Māori Church Boards had been formed, acting like a Māori Synod.

The synod sessions of 1872 to 1876 are not numbered. The 1877 Synod is labelled as the second session of the 7th Synod.  Counting back, if they had been numbered, it would have looked like this:

1872    5th synod, session 1

1873    5th synod session 2

1874    6th synod session 1

1875    6th synod session 2

1876    7th synod session 1

1877    labelled as 7th synod session 2