Carl Sylvius Völkner
Encyclopedia
Carl Sylvius Völkner was a German-born Protestant missionary in New Zealand
.
He was born in Kassel
, Hesse
, Germany
, probably in 1819. Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand
by the North German Missionary Society. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1849. In 1852 he offered his services to the Church Missionary Society (CMS). He married Emma Lanfear, sister of a CMS missionary. Völkner took charge of the CMS mission station at Opotiki
in August 1861. There he worked among Te Whakatohea
, who built a church and a school for him. He went to Auckland
during 1864 and again in January 1865. He was then warned by members of Te Whakatohea not to return to Opotiki.
Ignoring the warning, Völkner returned to Opotiki on 1 March 1865. He was apprehended, tried for being a spy, and killed the following day at the hands of Hauhau
militants in the Völkner Incident
. The local Anglican
church in Opotiki has been named as St Stephen the Martyr in memory of his brutal death by hanging with decapitation and the swallowing of Völkner's eyeballs by the Hauhau leader, Kereopa Te Rau
.
Te Paepae o Aotea
, also known the Volkner Rocks, are named after him.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
He was born in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, probably in 1819. Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
by the North German Missionary Society. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1849. In 1852 he offered his services to the Church Missionary Society (CMS). He married Emma Lanfear, sister of a CMS missionary. Völkner took charge of the CMS mission station at Opotiki
Opotiki
Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
in August 1861. There he worked among Te Whakatohea
Te Whakatohea
Te Whakatōhea are a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. The iwi comprises six hapu: Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena and Te Ūpokorehe. In the 2006 Census, 12,072 people claimed an affiliation with Te Whakatōhea.The iwi is...
, who built a church and a school for him. He went to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
during 1864 and again in January 1865. He was then warned by members of Te Whakatohea not to return to Opotiki.
Ignoring the warning, Völkner returned to Opotiki on 1 March 1865. He was apprehended, tried for being a spy, and killed the following day at the hands of Hauhau
Hauhau
Hauhau is a Māori term that was applied to a branch of the religious movement Pai Marire, founded by Te Ua Haumēne of the Taranaki tribe in New Zealand in the 1860s. The movement inculcated that Māori would regain land that they had lost to Europeans during the colonisation process of New...
militants in the Völkner Incident
Volkner Incident
The Völkner Incident describes the murder of the missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner in New Zealand in 1865 and the consequent reaction of the Government of New Zealand in the midst of the New Zealand land wars.-Background:...
. The local Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Opotiki has been named as St Stephen the Martyr in memory of his brutal death by hanging with decapitation and the swallowing of Völkner's eyeballs by the Hauhau leader, Kereopa Te Rau
Kereopa te Rau
Kereopa Te Rau was a Māori Warrior. The name Kereopa is the Māori pronunciation of the Biblical name Cleopas. He was also nicknamed Kai whatu, the eye ball eater...
.
Te Paepae o Aotea
Te Paepae o Aotea
Te Paepae o Aotea, also known the Volkner Rocks , are a group of andesitic rock stacks and pinnacles located northwest of Whakaari/White Island in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty...
, also known the Volkner Rocks, are named after him.