Local Māori adherents of a new religion, Pai Mārire, hanged the Church Missionary Society (Anglican) missionary Carl Völkner from a willow tree near his church at Ōpōtiki.
Missionaries
Events In History
10 January 1838
French Bishop Jean Baptiste François Pompallier arrived in Hokianga. His party celebrated their first mass three days later.
20 December 1832
Church Missionary Society (CMS) leader Henry Williams gave the male pupils (Māori and Pākehā) of his mission school at Paihia in the Bay of Islands a rare day off.
6 June 1823
Samuel Leigh and William White established Wesleydale, a Wesleyan (Methodist) mission station at Kaeo. Leigh was friendly with Samuel Marsden of the Church Missionary Society and the two missions worked closely together.
12 August 1816
The simple building measured about 10m x 6m and included an area for Māori students to sleep and a cordoned-off platform for teachers and Pākehā students
25 December 1814
At Hohi (Oihi) Beach in the Bay of Islands, Samuel Marsden preached in English to a largely Māori gathering, launching New Zealand’s first Christian mission.
Articles
The death penalty
The first execution in New Zealand was that of a young Maori named Maketu, convicted at Auckland in 1842. Walter Bolton became the last to be executed when he was hanged at Mount Eden prison in 1957. In total there were 83 verified executions for murder and one for treason in New Zealand between these dates. Read the full article
Page 2 - The first execution
On 7 March 1842 Maketu Wharetotara, the 17-year-old son of the Ngāpuhi chief Ruhe of Waimate, became the first person to be legally executed in New
Pai Marire
Pai Marire (goodness and peace) was one of several new Māori faiths to emerge in the 19th century. Like many others, it was closely tied to issues of land and politics. Read the full article
Page 1 - Pai Mārire
Pai Marire (goodness and peace) was one of several new Māori faiths to emerge in the 19th century. Like many others, it was closely tied to issues of land and
Page 3 - The death of Carl Völkner
The killing of missionary Carl Völkner by Pai Mārire followers in 1865 shocked the colony. The government used the event to justify taking harsh action against the Pai Mārire
A frontier of chaos?
In the years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, relations between Māori and Europeans were marred by a number of high-profile incidents. Read the full article
Page 2 - Overview
The experiences of the explorers Abel Tasman, James Cook and Marion du Fresne convinced many Europeans that New Zealand was a dangerous
Page 5 - Captain Stewart and the Elizabeth
In 1830 Captain William Stewart of the brig Elizabeth made an arrangement with the Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha to ferry a taua (war party) of 100 warriors from his base on
Missionaries
The Christian missionaries of the pre-1840s have been described as the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', although they were not immune to moral blemish themselves. Read the full article
Page 1 - The Christian missionaries
The Christian missionaries of the pre-1840s have been described as the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', although they were not immune to moral blemish themselves.
Page 2 - Establishing the Church Missionary Society
Samuel Marsden was a key figure in the establishment of the first Christian mission in New Zealand.
Page 3 - Men of vice or virtue?
Thomas Kendall established the first mission school, but he was later suspended after admitting an adulterous affair with a Maori
Page 4 - Fixing God's house
Henry Williams, who had been ordained a priest in 1822 'for the cure of souls in his majesty's foreign possessions', inherited a mission beset by
Page 5 - Wesleyans and Catholics
How Maori responded to the arrival of Wesleyan and Catholic missionaries in the Bay of
Page 6 - Printing the word of God
From the mid-1830s the printed word became a new weapon in the campaign to bring Christianity to
Page 7 - Further information
Publications and links with information about pre-1840 missionaries
Taming the frontier
In 1832 James Busby was appointed as the official British Resident to New Zealand. After arriving in the Bay of Islands in May 1833 he took steps to tame what he saw as a chaotic frontier society. Read the full article
Page 2 - New South Wales and New Zealand
By the early 1830s humanitarians were encouraging the British government to take a more active role in New Zealand
Page 4 - Land issues on the eve of the Treaty of Waitangi
In the late 1830s the British government became concerned about how land was being obtained from Māori. Action was needed, it decided, to protect Māori from the worst ravages of
Exploring New Zealand's interior
After charting the coastline, European surveying and exploration of the interior were a fundamental part of the settlement process, defining the boundaries of ownership and identifying resources, useable land and access routes. Read the full article
Page 1 - Exploring New Zealand's interior
After charting the coastline, European surveying and exploration of the interior were a fundamental part of the settlement process, defining the boundaries of ownership and
Biographies
Lay missionary George Clarke reluctantly became "Chief Protector of Aborigines" in 1840, leading a department of sub-protectors whose role was to look after Maori interests.
Colenso arrived at the Bay of Islands as the Church Mission printer in December 1834. His achievements include printing the New Testamont in Māori and the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Thomas Grace was a deacon of the Church Missionary society. He set up a mission station in Pūkawa, Taupō, but had to leave Pūkawa less than a decade later. He, along with Carl Völkner, were captured by Pai Mārire members, but Grace was released unharmed while Völkner was killed.
Reverend Samuel Marsden was the driving force behind the establishment of Anglican mission stations in New Zealand.
Bishop of New Zealand George Selwyn became fluent in the Maori language and became and advocate for Maori land rights.
Anglican priest Richard Taylor had a great influence on Māori in the Whanganui region, and by the early 1850s as many as two-thirds of the Māori population in his district.
Henry Williams was a missionary who supported British annexation. He believed that Māori should be protected from lawless Europeans and fraudulent dealings. He and his son Edward translated the Treaty of Waitangi into Māori.
A French bishop living amongst hostile British settlers in New Zealand, Pompallier was sympathetic to Māori concerns, and for his time had an enlightened view towards Māori.
On 2 March 1865 Carl Völkner, a German-born missionary, was hanged from a willow tree near his church at Opotiki. Followers of a new religion, Pai Marire, who suspected Völkner of spying for the government, were held responsible.
In 1862 Te Ua Haumēne established a new religion, Hauhau based on the principle of pai marire – goodness and peace. Most settlers viewed Hauhau as a anti-European religion that became synonymous with ‘violence, fanaticism and barbarism’.
Suzanne Aubert – later Mary Joseph Aubert – was a Catholic nun, nurse, teacher and pioneering social worker, who sometimes had to battle church and government authorities in order to help those in need.
Thomas Kendall was one of New Zealand’s first Christian missionaries. He pioneered the transcription of the Māori language, and also investigated how Māori understood the universe.
An early missionary and linguist, William Williams later came to criticise the government's dealings during the New Zealand Wars.
Main image: Richard Taylor
A portrait of Reverend Richard Taylor, cica 1860-1873. Taken by unidentified photographer.
