In 1849 two missionaries came to Manihiki, and then on to Rakahanga. Tairi was from Rarotonga, and Apolo was from Aitutaki, and they were sent by the London Missionary Society which sought to spread the Scriptures using the vernacular. Within a few years most of the population had been baptised and given new names. In 1855, a visiting Rarotongan missionary, Maretu, was concerned at the loss of life on the ocean voyages between the atolls, and decided part of the population should live permanently on Rakahanga and the remainder stay on Manihiki. Maretu wrote that the people "all raised their hands in agreement. That's how it was agreed that the two islands would live separately. The people went home in great joy". Rakahanga’s population then became about 500. Maretu also asked that the settlement be moved from Te Kainga to its present location so it could be set out "in an orderly pattern".