Rowland Hassall
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Rowland Hassall (31 March 1768 – 28 August 1820), born in England, was a missionary in Tahiti for a short period of time and in New South Wales for the rest of his life. Initially a field preacher, he became a minister. He raised sheep, was a businessman, and became a prosperous land-owner. His son Thomas Hassall established the first Sunday school in Australia, after which Rowland Hassall co-founded the New South Wales Sunday School Institution in 1815.


England

Rowland Hill Hassall, the son of James Hassall, was born in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, England on 31 March 1768. He was named after Rowland Hill, who was his parents' minister. He was able to read and write at a rudimentary level. Like his father, he became a silk weaver, He married Elizabeth Hancox, who plied the same trade. Their first son,
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
, was born in 1794 and their second son Samuel Otoo was born in 1796.


Conversion

Hassall contracted black measles or
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
and having barely survived the disease, he vowed to serve God. Hassall and Elizabeth attended the West Orchard Congregational Church and they were 'called under one sermon' given by Rev. George Burder. Hassall was a field preacher for Burder and founded a Sunday school. Inspired by Hassall and other field preachers, Burder wrote the book "Village Sermans".


Missionary

Hassall joined the
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...
(LMS) as an artisan missionary, having been recommended by Burder, who was a director of LMS. The four Hassalls sailed the '' Duff'' to Tahiti in 1796 and arrived on 5 Mar 1797. It was the first ship that sailed LMS missionaries to the South Seas. Hassall worked as a carpenter and a blacksmith. Their son Jonathan was born in Tahiti. Due to unrest with the Tahitians, the Hassalls fled Tahiti in 1798. They travelled with their brother-in-law Rev. James Cover and other missionaries on the ''Nautilus'', arriving in
Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
(
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
) in May 1798. At the time of their arrival, Port Jackson was a small community, with British officers living in seven huts made of
wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite material, composite building method in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called "wattle (construction), wattle" is "daubed" with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, and ...
with a thatched roof. Supplies arrived only once a year, leaving the inhabitants near starvation at times. William Henry and James Cover established an itinerant ministry at preaching stations, including Kissing Point and Toongabbie. Hassall was a "Calvinistically-oriented Methodist and Presbyterian itinerant preacher" who rode on horseback to serve these communities. The Hassalls built a house on a plot of land that they were granted seven miles from Port Jackson. They had hired servants, one of whom came across a box with a false bottom hiding £600 () several months after their arrival. Two men broke into their house and threatened their lives if they did not hand over their money. In the struggle, Hassall was "insensible on the floor" and Elizabeth's arm was wounded when the thieves wrestled a sword from Hassall. It took some time for Hassall to heal, but he did not press charges. In 1800, Hassall took over Cover's position. Hassall raised funds for books and monies for Kissing Point school, which was operated by Matthew Hughes.
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...
was a benefactor. In 1803, Hassall and William Crook were co-ministers at Castle Hill. In 1804, the Hassalls moved to Parramatta and built a house along the Parramatta River, that was used for parish meetings, Christian outreach, and education. It was a base for missionaries who visited the colony on their way to the Pacific islands. Presbyterian and Calvinistic Methodist people settled at Portland Head on the Hawkesbury. He ministered to them and helped them build a chapel in 1808. He continued to give sermons on Friday and Sunday evenings in Parramatta. He co-founded the New South Wales Sunday School Institution in 1815. He communicated with fellow missionaries throughout his life.


Businessman

Hassall was appointed government storekeeper in September 1800 by Governor
Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1800 to 1806. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detai ...
. He was responsible for managing the stores at Toongabbie and the granary at Parramatta. He held the position for two years until it became apparent that there was ongoing fraudulent activity that Hassall overlooked. He was a sergeant in the Loyal Parramatta Association of Volunteers in March 1804. Hassall engaged in a number of commercial endeavours. He managed properties and was an agent, ran sheep for himself and other flockmasters, and operated a store in Parramatta. He had 1300 acres (526 ha) of land by 1808. He became the superintendent of government stock in 1814. When he died he left a total of 3000 acres (1214 ha) in multiple locations.


Personal life and death

The Hassalls had nine children including
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
, Samuel, Jonathan, Mary Cover, James, Eliza Cordelia, Susannah Marsden, Ann, and Elizabeth. Thomas opened the first Sunday school in Australia and his siblings were teachers. Hassall died of influenza on 28 August 1820 at Parramatta and was buried at the St John's Cemetery, Parramatta. Elizabeth died on 11 February 1834 at Parramatta.


Legacy

His son-in-law, Rev. Walter Lawry (married to Mary Cover Lawry), said of him upon his death, "His life was upright and his end, peace—a man more than ordinarily beloved by all around him; but most so by his own family, who are proverbially fond of him. Hassall's life was said to have been a "continued example of religion and piety, extensive benevolence and hospitality", and he had "never lost sight of his original designation as a Missionary, and continued to the latest period of his life zealously to perform the duties of one, by preaching the Gospel in almost all parts of the colony". He was an ardent correspondent and his letters are "one of the main sources for the early social history of New South Wales." His papers are held by the
State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...
. Artifacts from Rowland and Elizabeth are among the collection of the Mitchell Library (part of the
State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...
), including a painting by Buonarotti of the Hassalls, other missionaries, and King Pōmare II and the Queen of Tahiti.


See also

* Hassall Grove, New South Wales * Macquarie Grove


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassall, Rowland 1768 births 1820 deaths Australian Protestant missionaries People from Coventry People from Parramatta English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople