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Henry Williams (missionary)
Encyclopedia
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries
who went to New Zealand
in the first half of the 19th century.
He was named “the sea-warrior”. He entered the navy at the age of fourteen and served in the Napoleonic Wars
. He went to New Zealand in 1823 as a missionary. The Bay of Islands
Māori gave Williams the nickname Karu-whā ('Four-eyes' as Henry wore spectacles), he was known more widely as Te Wiremu. His younger brother William Williams
was also a missionary in New Zealand. William was “the scholar-surgeon”.
Although Henry Williams was not the first missionary in New Zealand – Thomas Kendall
, John Gare Butler, John King and William Hall having come before him – he was “the first to make the mission a success, partly because the others had opened up the way, but largely because he was the only man brave enough, stubborn enough, and strong enough to keep going, no matter what the dangers, and no matter what enemies he made”.
Henry Williams translated the Treaty of Waitangi
into the Māori language
, with some help from his son Edward (1840).
In 1844, he was installed as Archdeacon of Waimate.
, England, 27 May 1753 – Nottingham
6 January 1804) and Mary Marsh (10 April 1756 – 7 November 1831). They married at Gosport on 17 April 1783.
Thomas Williams was a supplier of uniforms to the Royal Navy
, in Gosport. In 1796 Thomas and Mary and their six children moved to Nottingham
, then the thriving centre of the East Midlands
industrial revolution. Thomas invested in a lace-making machine. The family prospered. In 1802-03 Thomas was one of the city's two chamberlains and in 1803–04 he was one of the two sheriffs. In 1804 he died of typhus
at the age of 50, leaving Mary with five sons and three daughters to look after.
Thomas and Mary Williams had nine children, six (including Henry) who were born in Gosport, and three (including William) in Nottingham:
Thomas Williams died when Henry was 11 years old. William was only three years old then.
. He became a midshipman
in 1807. He then served on HMS Maida
during the Battle of Copenhagen
when the Danish fleet was seized in 1807. Henry landed with the party of seamen who manned the breaching battery before the city. In HMS Galatea
, he took part in the Battle of Tamatave
, 1811, between three English frigates, under the command of Captain Schomberg, and three French vessels of superior force. He was wounded, from the effects of which he never entirely recovered. For this service a war medal was given.
After the outbreak of the War of 1812
between Britain and the United States he served on HMS Saturn
as part of the blockading-squadron off New York
. He was transferred to HMS Endymion
and served under Captain Henry Hope in the action on 14 January 1815
against the American warship USS President
. When the latter was forced to surrender, Williams was a member of the small prize crew which sailed the badly damaged vessel to port, after riding out a storm and quelling a mutiny of the American prisoners.
Before serving on HMS Saturn
Henry sat and passed his examinations for the rank of lieutenant
, although he was not promoted to lieutenant
until 28 February 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent
was ratified by the United States. When peace came, in 1815, he retired on half pay. At the age of 23 he had been "in the North Sea and the Baltic, around the French and Spanish coasts, southwards to the Cape, up to the eastern shores of Madagascar, across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, and northward to the coast of India. After service at Madras and Calcutta, it was on into the cold American winter and that epic last naval engagement in which he took part, on the Endymion
".
His service during the Napoleonic Wars
and the War of 1812
were experiences that influenced Henry's decision to become a Christian missionary
and peacemaker in carrying out the work of the Church Missionary Society in what was then considered an isolated and dangerous mission in Aotearoa
, New Zealand.
(Yorkshire, England, 12 December 1793 – Pakaraka, New Zealand, 16 December 1879).
They had eleven children:
, the husband of his sister Lydia, would play an important role in Henry's life. Marsh was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Henry received a copy of The Missionary Register from him about the work of missionaries in distant lands. Henry took a special interest in New Zealand and its native Māori people. It was not until 1819 that Henry offered his services as a missionary to the CMS. He was initially accepted as a lay settler, but was ordained later.
He studied surgery and medicine, and learned about boat-building. He studied for Holy Orders for two years, and was ordained Deacon
of the (Anglican
) Church of England
, on 2 June 1822, by the Bishop of London
; and Priest
, 16 June 1822, by the Bishop of Lincoln
.
On 17 September Henry and Marianne and three children sailed for Sydney
, Australia
on the Lord Sidmouth, a convict ship. In February 1823, at Hobart
, Henry met Samuel Marsden
for the first time. At Sydney
he met Marsden again. In July 1823 they set sail for New Zealand, accompanying Marsden on his (fourth) visit to New Zealand on board the Brampton. In 1823 he arrived in the Bay of Islands
and settled at Paihia
. Paihia was across the bay from Kororareka (nowadays Russell)
; then described as "the hell-hole of the South Pacific" because of the abuse of alcohol and prostitution that was caused by the sealing ships and whaling ships
that visited Kororareka.
, the rangatira
(chief) and war leader of the Ngāpuhi
iwi
(tribe). The immediate protector of the Paihia
mission was the chief Te Koki and his wife Hamu, a woman of high rank and the owner of the land occupied by the mission at Paihia. The missionary team had quite diverse members:
Henry was appointed to be the leader of the missionary team. He had a different approach to the missionary work than Marsden. Marsden's policy had been to teach useful skills as a preparation for evangelism. This approach had little success. Also, in order to obtain essential food, they had yielded to the pressure to trade in musket
s, the item of barter in which Māori showed the greatest interest in order to engage in inter-tribal warfare.
Henry concentrated on the salvation of souls. He stopped the trade in muskets. The result was that the mission could not trade for food, and that the Māori became resentful of those who denied the muskets. But soon the mission began to grow sufficient food for itself. The Māori came to see that the ban on muskets was the only way to bring an end to the tribal wars, but that took some time.
At first there were several conflicts and confrontations with the Ngāpuhi. One of the most severe was the confrontation with the chief Tohitapu on 12 January 1824, which was witnessed by other chiefs. The incident began when Tohitapu visited the mission, finding the gate being shut, Tohitapu jumped over fence. Henry demanded that Tohitapu enter the mission using the gate. Tohitapu was a chief and a tohunga
, skilled to the magic known as makutu
. Tohitapu was offended by William's demand and began a threatening haka
flourishing his mere
and taiaha
. Henry Williams faced down this challenge. Tohitapu then seized a pot, which he claimed as compensation for hurting his foot in jumping over the fence, whereupon Williams seized the pot off Tohitapu. The incidence continued through the night during which Tohitapu began a karakia
, a chant of bewitchment. Henry Williams had no fear of the karakia. The next morning Tohitapu and Henry reconciled their differences - Tohitapu remained a supporter of Henry Williams and the mission at Paihia.
This incident and others in which Henry Williams faced down belligerent chiefs, contributed to his growing mana
among the Māori by established to the Māori that Henry Williams had a forceful personality. “Although his capacity to comprehend the indigenous culture was severely constrained by his evangelical Christianity, his obduracy was in some ways an advantage in dealings with the Maori. From the time of his arrival he refused to be intimidated by the threats and boisterous actions of utu
and muru plundering parties”.
who became the captain of the Herald with William Gilbert Puckey
as the mate. This ship enabled Henry the better to provision the mission stations and to more easily visit the more remote areas of New Zealand. (She was wrecked in 1828 while trying to enter Hokianga Harbour). One of the first trips of the Herald brought Henry to Port Jackson
, Australia. Here he joined his younger brother William
and his wife Jane
. William, who had studied as a surgeon, had decided to become a missionary in New Zealand. They sailed to Paihia on board the Sir George Osborne, the same ship that brought William and Jane from England.
in 1815. Kendall travelled to London in 1820 with Hongi Hika
and Waikato (a lower ranking Ngāpuhi
chief) during which time work was done with Professor Samuel Lee at Cambridge University, which resulted in the First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language (1820). The CMS missionaries did not have a high regard for this book. Henry organised the CMS missionaries into a systematic study of the language and soon started translating the Bible into Māori.
After 1826 William Williams
became involved in the translation of the Bible and other Christian literature, with Henry Williams devoting more time to his efforts to establish CMS missions in the Waikato, Rotorua
and Bay of Plenty. Robert Maunsell worked with William Williams
on the translation of the Bible. William Williams concentrated on the New Testament; Maunsell worked on the Old Testament, portions of which were published in 1827, 1833 and 1840 with the full translation completed in 1857. In July 1827 the first Māori Bible was printed comprising 3 chapters of Genesis, 20th chapter of Exodus, 1st chapter of the Gospel of St John, 30 verses of the 5th chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, the Lord’s Prayer and some hymns.
William Gilbert Puckey
also collaborating with William Williams
on the translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1837 and its revision in 1844. William Williams
published the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar in 1844.
, the paramount Ngāpuhi
chief, was largely involved. He was hurt and died many months later. Henry was active in promoting a peaceful solution in what threatened to be a bloody war. Apart from that, on the morning of 5 January a brig had arrived, the Wellington, a convict ship, from Sydney, bound for Norfolk Island
. The convicts had risen, making prisoners of the captain, crew, guard and passengers. Henry convinced the captains of two whalers in the harbour to fire into and retake the Wellington. Forty convicts escaped. Threats were made to shoot Henry Williams, whom the convicts considered instrumental in their capture.
In 1830 there was a battle, in Kororareka, sometimes called the Girls War, which led to the death of the Ngāpuhi leader Hengi. Henry tried to bring peace. Tohitapu then cooperated. When the highly respected Rev. Samuel Marsden
arrived, it looked like peace. But Hengi's sons Mango and Kahaka were not satisfied with the situation. In March 1831 and March 1832 new raids took place. Henry tried to bring peace again, but the majority of Ngāpuhi maintained the offensive. When Henry sailed back to Paihia
he was caught in a raging sea. Henry took command out of the hands of the captain and saved the ship.
Inter-tribal was a exacerbated by the trade in muskets resulted in what are known as the Musket Wars
. In his journals Henry Williams provides an account of a musket war expedition or heke that took place between Dec 1831 and ended in Nov 1832. In 1833 Henry was involved in negotiations to free a number of slaves, taken by Ngāpuhi, most of them Ngāti Porou
, from the East Coast.
attended the CMS mission school at Kerikeri
in 1824 and 1825. Heke and his wife Ono, were baptised on 9 August 1835, with Heke later became a lay reader of the Church of England. For a time Heke lived at Paihia
during which time Henry Williams became a close friend and adviser.
Henry Williams played a leading role in the southward extension of the missionary activities: “He made several trips to other parts of the North Island to explore the possibilities for expansion, and directed the establishment of new missions. He sent missionaries to begin work at several places in the Waikato during the 1830s. His brother William
and his wife Jane
moved to Turanga, in Poverty Bay
, at the end of the decade, and stations were founded as far south as Otaki
”.
“From 1830 to 1840 Henry Williams ruled the mission with a kind but firm hand.(...) And when the first settlers of the New Zealand Company
landed at Wellington
in 1839, Williams did his best to repel them, because he felt they would overrun the country, taking the land and teaching the Māori godless customs”.
(1840). Together with his son he translated the English draft of the Treaty into Māori.
In his translation he used a dialect known as "Missionary Māori", which was not traditional Māori, but had been made up by the missionaries. An example of this in the Treaty is kawanatanga, a cognate word which Williams is believed to have transplanted from English. It appeared in the Māori language for the first time in the Treaty and hence, some argue, was an inappropriate choice. There is considerable debate about what would have been a more appropriate term. Some scholars argue that mana
(prestige, authority) would have more accurately conveyed the transfer of sovereignty; although others argue that mana
cannot be given away and is not the same thing as sovereignty.
Hone Heke
was the first chief to sign the Treaty of Waitangi
on 6 May 1840, although he was later to cut down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill Kororareka (nowadays Russell)
to express his dissatisfaction with how the representatives of Crown subsequently treated the authority of the chiefs as being subservient to that of the Crown.
Henry Williams was also involved in explaining the Treaty to Māori leaders, firstly at the meetings with William Hobson
at Waitangi
, but later also when he travelled to many places to persuade Māori chiefs to sign the Treaty.
His involvement in these debates brought him “into the increasingly uncomfortable role of mediating between two races”.
), to provide employment and financial security for his six sons and five daughters as the Church Missionary Society had no arrangements for pensions or other maintenance of CMS missionaries and their families that lived in New Zealand. The Church Missionary Society and implemented land purchase policies for its missionaries in Australia, which involved the Society paying for the purchase of land for the children of missionaries, but discussions for such a policy for the New Zealand missions had not been settled. The purchase of the land was reviewed by Land Commissioner FitzGerald under the Land Claims Ordinance 1841. FitzGerald, in the Land Office report of 14 July 1844, recommended that Governor FitzRoy confirm the award in favour of the Rev. Henry Williams of 9,000 of the 11,000 acres as Henry Williams “appears to have paid on behalf of himself and children enough to entitle them to (22,131) twenty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-one acres”. This did not end the controversy over the purchase of land by Henry Williams as the New Zealand Company
, and others with an interest in acquiring Māori land, continued to attack the character of Henry Williams.
In 1845 George Grey
arrived in New Zealand to take up his appointment as Governor
. At this time Hone Heke
challenged the authority of the British, beginning by cutting down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill
at Kororareka on four occasions. On this flagstaff the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand
had previously flown, now the Union Jack
was hoisted; hence the flagstaff symbolised the grievances of Heke and his allies as to changes that had followed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
. Hone Heke
, who was born at Pakaraka
, the location of the land Henry Williams had purchased, took no action against the CMS missionaries during the Flagstaff War
and directed his protest at the representatives of Crown with Hone Heke
and Te Ruki Kawiti fighting the English soldiers and Māori tribes that remained loyal to the Crown. During the Flagstaff War
Henry Williams wrote letters to Hone Heke in an attempt to persuade Heke and Kawiti to cease the conflict. In 1846, following the battles at Ohaeawai
pā and Ruapekapeka
pā, Hone Heke
and Te Ruki Kawiti sought to end the Flagstaff War
; with Tāmati Wāka Nene
acting as an intermediary, they agreed peace terms with Governor Grey.
In following years Governor Grey listened to the voices speaking against the CMS missionaries and Governor Grey accused Henry Williams and the other CMS missionaries of being responsible for the Flagstaff War
; The newspaper New Zealander of 31 January 1846 inflamed the attack in an article that referring to "TREASONABLE LETTERS. Among the recent proclamations in the Government Gazette of the 24th instant, is one respecting some letters found in the pa at Ruapekapeka
, and stating that his Excellency, although aware that they were of a treasonable nature, ordered them to be consigned to the flames, without either perusing or allowing a copy of them to be taken." In a thinly disguise reference to Henry Williams, with the reference to "their Rangatira pakeha [gentlemen] correspondents", the New Zealander went on to state: "We consider these English traitors far more guilty and deserving of severe punishment, than the brave natives whom they have advised and misled. Cowards and knaves in the full sense of the terms, they have pursued their traitorous schemes, afraid to risk their own persons, yet artfully sacrificing others for their own aggrandizement, while, probably at the same time, they were most hypocritically professing most zealous loyalty."
In a letter of 25 June 1846 to W. E. Gladstone the Colonial Secretary
in Sir Robert Peel
's government, Governor Grey referred to the land acquired by the CMS missionaries and commented that "Her Majesty's Government may also rest satisfied that these individuals cannot be put in possession of these tracts of land without a large expenditure of British blood and money”. The first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn
, took the side of Grey in relation to the purchase of the land, and in 1849 the CMS decided to dismiss Henry from service when Henry refused to give up the land acquired for his family at Pakaraka
.
Henry and Marianne
moved to Pakaraka
. Here his children were farming the land that was the source of his troubles. He continued to minister and preach in the Holy Trinity Church at Pakaraka
, which was build by his family. Henry and Marianne
lived by the church in a house known as The Retreat, that still stands. In 1854 he was reinstated to the CMS after Bishop Selwyn and George Grey
addressed the committee of the CMS and requested that Henry Williams be reinstated.
Governor Grey’s first term of office ended in 1853. Sir George Grey
returned to New Zealand in 1861 as Governor
. Henry Williams welcomed his return with Sir George and Henry meeting at Waimate
in November 1861.
Henry Williams died on 16 July 1867 was buried in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church at Pakaraka
.
(NZETC) (2011-06-27) (1874) - The life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate. Auckland NZ. Online available from Early New Zealand Books
(ENZB). (2004) - Gilbert Mair, Te Kooti's Nemesis. Reed Publ. Auckland NZ. ISBN 0-7900-0969-2 (1992) - Faith and farming Te huarahi ki te ora; The Legacy of Henry Williams and William Williams. Published by Evagean Publishing, 266 Shaw Road, Titirangi, Auckland NZ. ISBN 0-908951-16-7 (soft cover), ISBN 0-908951-17-5 (hard cover), ISBN 0-908951-18-3 (leather bound) (2011) - Te Wiremu - Henry Williams: Early Years in the North, Huia Publishers, New Zealand ISBN 978-1-86969-439-5 (2004) - Letters from the Bay of Islands, Sutton Publishing Limited, United Kingdom; ISBN 0-7509-3696-7 (Hardcover). Penguin Books, New Zealand, (Paperback) ISBN 0-14-301929-5 (1998) - East Coast Pioneers. A Williams Family Portrait; A Legacy of Land, Love and Partnership. Published by The Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd, Gladstone Road, Gisborne NZ. ISBN 0-473-05118-4 (1963) - Nine New Zealanders. Christchurch NZ. The chapter 'Angry peacemaker: Henry Williams – A missionary's courage wins Maori converts' (p. 32 - 36) (2007) - Williams, Henry 1792 - 1867 in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(DNZB), updated 22 June 2007 (1973) - Te Wiremu: A Biography of Henry Williams, Christchurch : Pegasus Press (1867) - Christianity among the New Zealanders. London. Online available from ENZB.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
who went 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...
in the first half of the 19th century.
He was named “the sea-warrior”. He entered the navy at the age of fourteen and served in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. He went to New Zealand in 1823 as a missionary. The Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
Māori gave Williams the nickname Karu-whā ('Four-eyes' as Henry wore spectacles), he was known more widely as Te Wiremu. His younger brother William Williams
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
was also a missionary in New Zealand. William was “the scholar-surgeon”.
Although Henry Williams was not the first missionary in New Zealand – Thomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall was a New Zealand lapsed missionary, recorder of the Māori language, schoolmaster, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori.-Early life: Lincolnshire and London, 1778-1813:...
, John Gare Butler, John King and William Hall having come before him – he was “the first to make the mission a success, partly because the others had opened up the way, but largely because he was the only man brave enough, stubborn enough, and strong enough to keep going, no matter what the dangers, and no matter what enemies he made”.
Henry Williams translated the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
into the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, with some help from his son Edward (1840).
In 1844, he was installed as Archdeacon of Waimate.
Parents, brothers and sisters
Henry was the son of Thomas Williams (GosportGosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, England, 27 May 1753 – Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
6 January 1804) and Mary Marsh (10 April 1756 – 7 November 1831). They married at Gosport on 17 April 1783.
Thomas Williams was a supplier of uniforms to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, in Gosport. In 1796 Thomas and Mary and their six children moved to Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, then the thriving centre of the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
industrial revolution. Thomas invested in a lace-making machine. The family prospered. In 1802-03 Thomas was one of the city's two chamberlains and in 1803–04 he was one of the two sheriffs. In 1804 he died of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
at the age of 50, leaving Mary with five sons and three daughters to look after.
Thomas and Mary Williams had nine children, six (including Henry) who were born in Gosport, and three (including William) in Nottingham:
- Mary (Gosport, England, 2 March 1784 – Gosport, England, 19 April 1786)
- Thomas Sydney (Gosport, England, 11 February 1786 – AltonaAltona, HamburgAltona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
, 12 February 1869) - Lydia (Gosport, England, 17 January 1788 – 13 December 1859), who married on 7 July 1813 to Edward Garrard MarshEdward Garrard MarshEdward Garrard Marsh was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.He was son of the composer John Marsh. He was a good friend of William Hayley, and associated with him and William Blake....
(8 February 1783 – 20 September 1862) - John (Gosport, England, 22 March 1789 – New Zealand, 9 March 1855)
- Henry (Gosport, England, 11 February 1792 – PakarakaPakarakaPakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
, Bay of IslandsBay of IslandsThe Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
, New Zealand 16 July 1867) - Joseph William (Gosport, England, 27 October 1793 – Gosport, England, August 1799)
- Mary Rebecca (Nottingham, England, 3 June 1795 – BethlehemBethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
17 December 1858) - Catherine (Nottingham, England, 28 July 1797 – Southwell, NottinghamshireSouthwell, NottinghamshireSouthwell is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, best known as the site of Southwell Minster, the seat of the Church of England diocese that covers Nottinghamshire...
, England, 11 July 1881) - WilliamWilliam Williams (bishop)William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
(Nottingham, England, 18 July 1800 – NapierNapier, New ZealandNapier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
, New Zealand, 9 February 1878)
Thomas Williams died when Henry was 11 years old. William was only three years old then.
1806–1815: Navy years
In 1806, when he was 14, Henry entered the Royal Navy, serving on HMS BarfleurHMS Barfleur (1768)
HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William, and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making...
. He became a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in 1807. He then served on HMS Maida
French ship Viala (1795)
The Viala was a 74-gun of the French Navy launched in 1795. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1806 and sold in 1814.-French service:...
during the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
when the Danish fleet was seized in 1807. Henry landed with the party of seamen who manned the breaching battery before the city. In HMS Galatea
HMS Galatea (1810)
HMS Galatea was an Apollo-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy. The frigate was built at Deptford Dockyard, London, England and launched on 31 August 1810. In 1811 she participated in the Battle of Tamatave, which battle confirmed British dominance of the seas east of the Cape of Good Hope for the...
, he took part in the Battle of Tamatave
Battle of Tamatave
The Battle of Tamatave was fought off Tamatave in Madagascar between British and French frigate squadrons during the Napoleonic Wars...
, 1811, between three English frigates, under the command of Captain Schomberg, and three French vessels of superior force. He was wounded, from the effects of which he never entirely recovered. For this service a war medal was given.
After the outbreak of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
between Britain and the United States he served on HMS Saturn
HMS Saturn (1786)
HMS Saturn was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 November 1786 at Northam. She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen as part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve....
as part of the blockading-squadron off New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was transferred to HMS Endymion
HMS Endymion (1797)
HMS Endymion was a 40-gun fifth rate that served in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812 and during the First Opium War. She was built to the lines of the French prize captured in 1794...
and served under Captain Henry Hope in the action on 14 January 1815
Capture of USS President
The Capture of USS President was the result of a naval action fought at the end of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The frigate President tried to break out of New York Harbor, but was intercepted by a British squadron of four frigates and was forced to surrender.-Prelude:At the time of the battle...
against the American warship USS President
USS President (1800)
USS President was a nominally rated 44-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principle of the United States Constitution. Forman Cheeseman was in charge of her construction, and she was launched in April 1800 from a...
. When the latter was forced to surrender, Williams was a member of the small prize crew which sailed the badly damaged vessel to port, after riding out a storm and quelling a mutiny of the American prisoners.
Before serving on HMS Saturn
HMS Saturn (1786)
HMS Saturn was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 November 1786 at Northam. She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen as part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve....
Henry sat and passed his examinations for the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, although he was not promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
until 28 February 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
was ratified by the United States. When peace came, in 1815, he retired on half pay. At the age of 23 he had been "in the North Sea and the Baltic, around the French and Spanish coasts, southwards to the Cape, up to the eastern shores of Madagascar, across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, and northward to the coast of India. After service at Madras and Calcutta, it was on into the cold American winter and that epic last naval engagement in which he took part, on the Endymion
HMS Endymion (1797)
HMS Endymion was a 40-gun fifth rate that served in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812 and during the First Opium War. She was built to the lines of the French prize captured in 1794...
".
His service during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
were experiences that influenced Henry's decision to become a Christian missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and peacemaker in carrying out the work of the Church Missionary Society in what was then considered an isolated and dangerous mission in Aotearoa
Aotearoa
Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.-Translation:The...
, New Zealand.
Marriage and children
Henry married on 20 January 1818 to Marianne ColdhamMarianne Williams
Marianne Williams together with her sister-in-law Jane Williams were pioneering educators in New Zealand. They set up the first schools for Māori children and adults as well as educating the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
(Yorkshire, England, 12 December 1793 – Pakaraka, New Zealand, 16 December 1879).
They had eleven children:
- Edward Marsh (2 November 1818 – 11 October 1909)
- Marianne (28 April 1820 – 25 November 1919)
- Samuel (17 January 1822 – 14 March 1907)
- Henry (10 November 1823 – 6 December 1907)
- Thomas Coldham (18 July 1825 – 19 May 1912)
- John William (6 April 1827 – 27 April 1904)
- Sarah (26 February 1829 – 5 April 1866)
- Catherine (Kate) (24 February 1831 – 8 January 1902)
- Caroline Elizabeth (13 November 1832 – 20 January 1916)
- Lydia Jane (2 December 1834 – 28 November 1891)
- Joseph Marsden (5 March 1837 – 30 March 1892)
Missionary
Edward Garrard MarshEdward Garrard Marsh
Edward Garrard Marsh was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.He was son of the composer John Marsh. He was a good friend of William Hayley, and associated with him and William Blake....
, the husband of his sister Lydia, would play an important role in Henry's life. Marsh was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Henry received a copy of The Missionary Register from him about the work of missionaries in distant lands. Henry took a special interest in New Zealand and its native Māori people. It was not until 1819 that Henry offered his services as a missionary to the CMS. He was initially accepted as a lay settler, but was ordained later.
He studied surgery and medicine, and learned about boat-building. He studied for Holy Orders for two years, and was ordained Deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
of the (Anglican
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
) Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, on 2 June 1822, by the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
; and Priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, 16 June 1822, by the Bishop of Lincoln
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral...
.
On 17 September Henry and Marianne and three children sailed for Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on the Lord Sidmouth, a convict ship. In February 1823, at Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Henry met Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
for the first time. At Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
he met Marsden again. In July 1823 they set sail for New Zealand, accompanying Marsden on his (fourth) visit to New Zealand on board the Brampton. In 1823 he arrived in the Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
and settled at Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
. Paihia was across the bay from Kororareka (nowadays Russell)
Russell, New Zealand
Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, was the first permanent European settlement and sea port in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island. As at the 2006 census it had a resident population of 816, an increase of 12 from 2001...
; then described as "the hell-hole of the South Pacific" because of the abuse of alcohol and prostitution that was caused by the sealing ships and whaling ships
Whaling in New Zealand
Whaling in New Zealand dates back to the late 18th century, and ended in 1964 since it was no longer economic. Nineteenth century whaling was based on the southern right whale, and 20th century whaling on the humpback whale...
that visited Kororareka.
The early days at Paihia
The members of the Church Missionary Society were under the protection of Hongi HikaHongi Hika
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi . Hongi Hika used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the first of the Musket Wars...
, the rangatira
Rangatira
Rangatira are the hereditary Māori leaders of hapū, and were described by ethnologists such as Elsdon Best as chieftains . Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that of other tribes...
(chief) and war leader of the Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
(tribe). The immediate protector of the Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
mission was the chief Te Koki and his wife Hamu, a woman of high rank and the owner of the land occupied by the mission at Paihia. The missionary team had quite diverse members:
- Charles BakerCharles BakerCharles Baker or Charlie Baker may refer to:*Charles Baker , executed English Jesuit priest*Charles Baker , North American surveyor and jurist...
, arrived on 9 June 1828. He was stationed at KerikeriKerikeriKerikeri, the largest town in the Northland Region of New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 km north of Whangarei...
and then at Kororareka (Russell). - A.N. Brown, arrived in October 1829. He was put in charge of the school at PaihiaPaihiaPaihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
. In 1835 he opened the MatamataMatamataMatamata is a rural Waikato town in New Zealand with a population of around 12,000 . It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits...
mission station and in 1838 he went to TaurangaTaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
. - William ColensoWilliam ColensoWilliam Colenso was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.-Life:Born in Penzance, Cornwall, he was the cousin of John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal...
, arrived in December 1834 to work as a printer and missionary. - George Clarke, arrived 4 April 1824. A blacksmith at KerikeriKerikeriKerikeri, the largest town in the Northland Region of New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 km north of Whangarei...
. - Richard Davis, a farmer, arrived on 7 May 1824. He established a garden at the PaihiaPaihiaPaihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
mission. In 1831 he established a farm at the WaimateWaimate NorthWaimate North is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It is situated between Kerikeri and Lake Omapere, west of the Bay of Islands.Okuratope Pa was situated here and was the home to chief Te Hotete of the Ngai Tawake hapu in the late 18th-early 19th centuries...
mission. In 1843 he was ordained as a minister and appointed to KaikoheKaikoheKaikohe is the central service area for the Far North District of New Zealand, about 260 km from Auckland, situated on State Highway 12 at...
. - William T. Fairburn, a carpenter; Rev. J. Butler's “Journal” mentions his being in the Bay of IslandsBay of IslandsThe Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
in January 1821. In 1823 he was in Sydney and returned on board the Brampton with Rev. Henry Williams and his wife MarianneMarianne WilliamsMarianne Williams together with her sister-in-law Jane Williams were pioneering educators in New Zealand. They set up the first schools for Māori children and adults as well as educating the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
; He later went with John A. Wilson, James Preece and John Morgan to establish the Putiri mission station. His daughter Elizabeth married William ColensoWilliam ColensoWilliam Colenso was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.-Life:Born in Penzance, Cornwall, he was the cousin of John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal...
. - Octavius HadfieldOctavius HadfieldOctavius Hadfield was Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893. A missionary for thirty years, he was recognised as an authority on Maori customs and language...
, arrived in December 1838 and was ordained a minister at Paihia on 6 January 1839, that year he travelled to OtakiOtaki, New ZealandOtaki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. It marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region. The town's...
with Henry Williams, where he established a mission station. - James Kemp, arrived 12 August 1819. Blacksmith, keeper of the mission stores and catechistCatechismA catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, and school teacher at KerikeriKerikeriKerikeri, the largest town in the Northland Region of New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 km north of Whangarei...
. - Samuel Marsden Knight (a nephew of Samuel MarsdenSamuel MarsdenSamuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
), catechistCatechismA catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
arrived in June 1835. - Robert Maunsell, arrived in 1835 and worked with the Rev. William WilliamsWilliam Williams (bishop)William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
on the translation of the Bible. He later established the ManukauManukauManukau City was a large territorial authority in Auckland, New Zealand. The city was sometimes referred to as South Auckland, but this term did not possess official recognition and did not encompass areas like East Auckland, which was previously within the official boundaries of Manukau City...
mission station in 1835. - William Puckey, carpenter, arrived on 12 August 1819 and worked with Joseph Matthews to establish the KaitaiaKaitaiaKaitaia is a town in the far north region of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula which is about 160 km northwest of Whangarei. It is the last major settlement on the main road north to the capes and bays on the peninsula...
mission station in 1833. William Puckey was the father of William Gilbert PuckeyWilliam Gilbert PuckeyWilliam Gilbert Puckey , born in Penryn, England, was a prominent missionary in New Zealand. He accompanied his parents to New Zealand at the age of 14 and quickly learned the Māori language, speaking it fluently by age 16, and becoming widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of Māori in...
. - William Gilbert PuckeyWilliam Gilbert PuckeyWilliam Gilbert Puckey , born in Penryn, England, was a prominent missionary in New Zealand. He accompanied his parents to New Zealand at the age of 14 and quickly learned the Māori language, speaking it fluently by age 16, and becoming widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of Māori in...
joined the mission in 1821. He served as the mate of the Herald; then worked for the CMS mission, including collaborating with William WilliamsWilliam Williams (bishop)William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
on the translation of the New Testament. - James Shepherd, visited with Marsden in 1817 and placed at Rangihoua in 1820. A skilled gardener, who taught the Māori how to plant vegetables, fruit and trees. He was generally employed among the different tribes, instructing them in the Christian religion, as he understood the Māori language better than any of the other missionaries at that time. He served at the mission stations at KaeoKaeoThe township of Kaeo lies some 22 km northwest of Kerikeri in Northland, New Zealand. The town takes its name from the unique shellfish found in the nearby Whangaroa Harbour....
, Te Puna on the Purerua PeninsulaPurerua PeninsulaPurerua Peninsula is a peninsula on the northwest side of the Bay of Islands in Northland, New Zealand. Te Puna Inlet lies to the south of the peninsula. Communities on the peninsula are Purerua, Te Tii and Taronui Bay...
and WhangaroaWhangaroaWhangaroa is a locality on the harbour of the same name in Northland, New Zealand.Whangaroa is 8km north-west from Kaeo and 45km north from Okaihau. The harbour is almost landlocked and is popular both as a fishing spot in its own right and as a base for deep-sea fishing.The harbour was the scene...
. - William Wade, printer, arrived in December 1834 and worked with William ColensoWilliam ColensoWilliam Colenso was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician.-Life:Born in Penzance, Cornwall, he was the cousin of John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal...
at PaihiaPaihiaPaihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
. He later established the TaurangaTaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
mission station in 1835.
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s, the item of barter in which Māori showed the greatest interest in order to engage in inter-tribal warfare.
Henry concentrated on the salvation of souls. He stopped the trade in muskets. The result was that the mission could not trade for food, and that the Māori became resentful of those who denied the muskets. But soon the mission began to grow sufficient food for itself. The Māori came to see that the ban on muskets was the only way to bring an end to the tribal wars, but that took some time.
At first there were several conflicts and confrontations with the Ngāpuhi. One of the most severe was the confrontation with the chief Tohitapu on 12 January 1824, which was witnessed by other chiefs. The incident began when Tohitapu visited the mission, finding the gate being shut, Tohitapu jumped over fence. Henry demanded that Tohitapu enter the mission using the gate. Tohitapu was a chief and a tohunga
Tohunga
In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, religious or otherwise. Tohunga may include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teachers and advisors. The equivalent term in Hawaiian culture is kahuna...
, skilled to the magic known as makutu
Makutu
Mākutu is a New Zealand Māori word meaning witchcraft, sorcery, to bewitch; also a spell or incantation. It may also be described as a belief in malignant occult powers possessed by certain people....
. Tohitapu was offended by William's demand and began a threatening haka
Haka
Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
flourishing his mere
Mere (weapon)
The mere is a type of short, broad-bladed club , usually made from Nephrite jade . A mere is one of the traditional, close combat, one-handed weapons of the indigenous Māori, of New Zealand. A mere could be used to split a skull open.- Form :The Mere is a spatulate, leaf shaped, form of short club...
and taiaha
Taiaha
A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of the Māori of New Zealand.It is a wooden, or sometimes whale bone, close quarters, staff weapon used for short sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with quick footwork on the part of the wielder. Taiaha are usually between in length...
. Henry Williams faced down this challenge. Tohitapu then seized a pot, which he claimed as compensation for hurting his foot in jumping over the fence, whereupon Williams seized the pot off Tohitapu. The incidence continued through the night during which Tohitapu began a karakia
Karakia
Karakia are Māori incantations and prayers.Karakia are generally used to ensure a favourable outcome of important undertakings. They are also considered a formal greeting when beginning a ceremony...
, a chant of bewitchment. Henry Williams had no fear of the karakia. The next morning Tohitapu and Henry reconciled their differences - Tohitapu remained a supporter of Henry Williams and the mission at Paihia.
This incident and others in which Henry Williams faced down belligerent chiefs, contributed to his growing mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
among the Māori by established to the Māori that Henry Williams had a forceful personality. “Although his capacity to comprehend the indigenous culture was severely constrained by his evangelical Christianity, his obduracy was in some ways an advantage in dealings with the Maori. From the time of his arrival he refused to be intimidated by the threats and boisterous actions of utu
Utu (Maori concept)
Utu is a Māori concept of reciprocation, or balance.To retain mana, both friendly and unfriendly actions require an appropriate response - hence utu covers both the reciprocation of kind deeds, and the seeking of revenge....
and muru plundering parties”.
The building of the schooner Herald
In 1826 the 55 ton schooner Herald was constructed on the beach at Paihia. Henry was assisted by Gilbert MairGilbert Mair (trader)
Gilbert Mair was a sailor and a merchant trader who visited New Zealand for the first time when he was twenty, and lived there from 1824 till his death. He married Elizabeth Gilbert Puckey. They had twelve children. Among them were "famous New Zealanders" like Captain Gilbert Mair and Major...
who became the captain of the Herald with William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey , born in Penryn, England, was a prominent missionary in New Zealand. He accompanied his parents to New Zealand at the age of 14 and quickly learned the Māori language, speaking it fluently by age 16, and becoming widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of Māori in...
as the mate. This ship enabled Henry the better to provision the mission stations and to more easily visit the more remote areas of New Zealand. (She was wrecked in 1828 while trying to enter Hokianga Harbour). One of the first trips of the Herald brought Henry to Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
, Australia. Here he joined his younger brother William
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
and his wife Jane
Jane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
. William, who had studied as a surgeon, had decided to become a missionary in New Zealand. They sailed to Paihia on board the Sir George Osborne, the same ship that brought William and Jane from England.
The translation of the Bible and dictionary making
The first book published in the Māori language was A Korao no New Zealand! The New Zealanders First Book!, published by Thomas KendallThomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall was a New Zealand lapsed missionary, recorder of the Māori language, schoolmaster, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori.-Early life: Lincolnshire and London, 1778-1813:...
in 1815. Kendall travelled to London in 1820 with Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi . Hongi Hika used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the first of the Musket Wars...
and Waikato (a lower ranking Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
chief) during which time work was done with Professor Samuel Lee at Cambridge University, which resulted in the First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language (1820). The CMS missionaries did not have a high regard for this book. Henry organised the CMS missionaries into a systematic study of the language and soon started translating the Bible into Māori.
After 1826 William Williams
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
became involved in the translation of the Bible and other Christian literature, with Henry Williams devoting more time to his efforts to establish CMS missions in the Waikato, Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
and Bay of Plenty. Robert Maunsell worked with William Williams
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
on the translation of the Bible. William Williams concentrated on the New Testament; Maunsell worked on the Old Testament, portions of which were published in 1827, 1833 and 1840 with the full translation completed in 1857. In July 1827 the first Māori Bible was printed comprising 3 chapters of Genesis, 20th chapter of Exodus, 1st chapter of the Gospel of St John, 30 verses of the 5th chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, the Lord’s Prayer and some hymns.
William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey , born in Penryn, England, was a prominent missionary in New Zealand. He accompanied his parents to New Zealand at the age of 14 and quickly learned the Māori language, speaking it fluently by age 16, and becoming widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of Māori in...
also collaborating with William Williams
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
on the translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1837 and its revision in 1844. William Williams
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
published the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar in 1844.
The Musket Wars
In 1827 there were new battles between Māori tribes. Hongi HikaHongi Hika
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi . Hongi Hika used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the first of the Musket Wars...
, the paramount Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
chief, was largely involved. He was hurt and died many months later. Henry was active in promoting a peaceful solution in what threatened to be a bloody war. Apart from that, on the morning of 5 January a brig had arrived, the Wellington, a convict ship, from Sydney, bound for Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
. The convicts had risen, making prisoners of the captain, crew, guard and passengers. Henry convinced the captains of two whalers in the harbour to fire into and retake the Wellington. Forty convicts escaped. Threats were made to shoot Henry Williams, whom the convicts considered instrumental in their capture.
In 1830 there was a battle, in Kororareka, sometimes called the Girls War, which led to the death of the Ngāpuhi leader Hengi. Henry tried to bring peace. Tohitapu then cooperated. When the highly respected Rev. Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
arrived, it looked like peace. But Hengi's sons Mango and Kahaka were not satisfied with the situation. In March 1831 and March 1832 new raids took place. Henry tried to bring peace again, but the majority of Ngāpuhi maintained the offensive. When Henry sailed back to Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
he was caught in a raging sea. Henry took command out of the hands of the captain and saved the ship.
Inter-tribal was a exacerbated by the trade in muskets resulted in what are known as the Musket Wars
Musket Wars
The Musket Wars were a series of five hundred or more battles mainly fought between various hapū , sometimes alliances of pan-hapū groups and less often larger iwi of Māori between 1807 and 1842, in New Zealand.Northern tribes such as the rivals Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua were the first to obtain...
. In his journals Henry Williams provides an account of a musket war expedition or heke that took place between Dec 1831 and ended in Nov 1832. In 1833 Henry was involved in negotiations to free a number of slaves, taken by Ngāpuhi, most of them Ngāti Porou
Ngati Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand, with 71,910 registered members in 2006...
, from the East Coast.
Expansion of the activities of the CMS mission
On 7 February 1830 Rawiri Taiwhanga (1818–1874), a Ngāpuhi chief, was baptised. He was the first high-ranking Māori to be converted to Christianity. This gave the missionary work of the CMS a great impetus, as it influenced many others to do the same. Hone HekeHone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
attended the CMS mission school at Kerikeri
Kerikeri
Kerikeri, the largest town in the Northland Region of New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 km north of Whangarei...
in 1824 and 1825. Heke and his wife Ono, were baptised on 9 August 1835, with Heke later became a lay reader of the Church of England. For a time Heke lived at Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
during which time Henry Williams became a close friend and adviser.
Henry Williams played a leading role in the southward extension of the missionary activities: “He made several trips to other parts of the North Island to explore the possibilities for expansion, and directed the establishment of new missions. He sent missionaries to begin work at several places in the Waikato during the 1830s. His brother William
William Williams (bishop)
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.-Early life:Williams was born in Nottingham to Thomas...
and his wife Jane
Jane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
moved to Turanga, in Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
, at the end of the decade, and stations were founded as far south as Otaki
Otaki, New Zealand
Otaki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. It marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region. The town's...
”.
“From 1830 to 1840 Henry Williams ruled the mission with a kind but firm hand.(...) And when the first settlers of the New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
landed at Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in 1839, Williams did his best to repel them, because he felt they would overrun the country, taking the land and teaching the Māori godless customs”.
Treaty of Waitangi
Henry Williams played an important role in the coming about of the Treaty of WaitangiTreaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
(1840). Together with his son he translated the English draft of the Treaty into Māori.
In his translation he used a dialect known as "Missionary Māori", which was not traditional Māori, but had been made up by the missionaries. An example of this in the Treaty is kawanatanga, a cognate word which Williams is believed to have transplanted from English. It appeared in the Māori language for the first time in the Treaty and hence, some argue, was an inappropriate choice. There is considerable debate about what would have been a more appropriate term. Some scholars argue that mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
(prestige, authority) would have more accurately conveyed the transfer of sovereignty; although others argue that mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
cannot be given away and is not the same thing as sovereignty.
Hone Heke
Hone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
was the first chief to sign the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
on 6 May 1840, although he was later to cut down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill Kororareka (nowadays Russell)
Russell, New Zealand
Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, was the first permanent European settlement and sea port in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island. As at the 2006 census it had a resident population of 816, an increase of 12 from 2001...
to express his dissatisfaction with how the representatives of Crown subsequently treated the authority of the chiefs as being subservient to that of the Crown.
Henry Williams was also involved in explaining the Treaty to Māori leaders, firstly at the meetings with William Hobson
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson RN was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.-Early life:...
at Waitangi
Waitangi
Waitangi is the name of various places, towns, and settlements in New Zealand. The two most notable of these are:* Waitangi, Northland* Waitangi, Chatham Islands...
, but later also when he travelled to many places to persuade Māori chiefs to sign the Treaty.
His involvement in these debates brought him “into the increasingly uncomfortable role of mediating between two races”.
Dismissed from service; rehabilitation
In the 1830s Henry Williams purchased 11,000 acres (5,420 hectares) from Te Morenga of Tai-a-mai (PakarakaPakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
), to provide employment and financial security for his six sons and five daughters as the Church Missionary Society had no arrangements for pensions or other maintenance of CMS missionaries and their families that lived in New Zealand. The Church Missionary Society and implemented land purchase policies for its missionaries in Australia, which involved the Society paying for the purchase of land for the children of missionaries, but discussions for such a policy for the New Zealand missions had not been settled. The purchase of the land was reviewed by Land Commissioner FitzGerald under the Land Claims Ordinance 1841. FitzGerald, in the Land Office report of 14 July 1844, recommended that Governor FitzRoy confirm the award in favour of the Rev. Henry Williams of 9,000 of the 11,000 acres as Henry Williams “appears to have paid on behalf of himself and children enough to entitle them to (22,131) twenty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-one acres”. This did not end the controversy over the purchase of land by Henry Williams as the New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
, and others with an interest in acquiring Māori land, continued to attack the character of Henry Williams.
In 1845 George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
arrived in New Zealand to take up his appointment as Governor
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
. At this time Hone Heke
Hone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
challenged the authority of the British, beginning by cutting down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill
Flagstaff Hill, New Zealand
Flagstaff Hill overlooks the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Directly north of the small historical village of Russell, the flagstaff on the hill played a significant role in early relations between the local Māori of the Ngāpuhi iwi and early British colonials.-History:After the Treaty of Waitangi...
at Kororareka on four occasions. On this flagstaff the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand
United Tribes of New Zealand
The United Tribes of New Zealand was a loose confederation of Māori tribes based in the north of the North Island.- History :The confederation was convened in 1834 by British Resident James Busby...
had previously flown, now the Union Jack
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
was hoisted; hence the flagstaff symbolised the grievances of Heke and his allies as to changes that had followed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
. Hone Heke
Hone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
, who was born at Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
, the location of the land Henry Williams had purchased, took no action against the CMS missionaries during the Flagstaff War
Flagstaff War
The Flagstaff War – also known as Hone Heke's Rebellion, the Northern War and erroneously as the First Māori War – was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
and directed his protest at the representatives of Crown with Hone Heke
Hone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
and Te Ruki Kawiti fighting the English soldiers and Māori tribes that remained loyal to the Crown. During the Flagstaff War
Flagstaff War
The Flagstaff War – also known as Hone Heke's Rebellion, the Northern War and erroneously as the First Māori War – was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
Henry Williams wrote letters to Hone Heke in an attempt to persuade Heke and Kawiti to cease the conflict. In 1846, following the battles at Ohaeawai
Ohaeawai
Ohaeawai is a small village at the junction of State Highway 1 and State Highway 12 in the Far North District of New Zealand, some 250 km from Auckland. Nearby is the site of the bloody Battle of Ohaeawai fought at Pene Taui's pā during the Flagstaff War in 1845...
pā and Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka is a pā 14 kilometres southeast of Kawakawa in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is one of the largest and most complex pā in New Zealand, that was designed specifically to counter the cannons of the British forces. The earthworks can still be seen just south of Kawakawa...
pā, Hone Heke
Hone Heke
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai was a Māori rangatira and war leader in Northern New Zealand and a nephew of Hongi Hika, an earlier war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi. Hone Heke is considered the principal instigator of the Flagstaff War....
and Te Ruki Kawiti sought to end the Flagstaff War
Flagstaff War
The Flagstaff War – also known as Hone Heke's Rebellion, the Northern War and erroneously as the First Māori War – was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
; with Tāmati Wāka Nene
Tamati Waka Nene
Tāmati Wāka Nene was a Māori rangatira who fought as an ally of the British in the Flagstaff War.-Origin and mana:...
acting as an intermediary, they agreed peace terms with Governor Grey.
In following years Governor Grey listened to the voices speaking against the CMS missionaries and Governor Grey accused Henry Williams and the other CMS missionaries of being responsible for the Flagstaff War
Flagstaff War
The Flagstaff War – also known as Hone Heke's Rebellion, the Northern War and erroneously as the First Māori War – was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
; The newspaper New Zealander of 31 January 1846 inflamed the attack in an article that referring to "TREASONABLE LETTERS. Among the recent proclamations in the Government Gazette of the 24th instant, is one respecting some letters found in the pa at Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka is a pā 14 kilometres southeast of Kawakawa in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is one of the largest and most complex pā in New Zealand, that was designed specifically to counter the cannons of the British forces. The earthworks can still be seen just south of Kawakawa...
, and stating that his Excellency, although aware that they were of a treasonable nature, ordered them to be consigned to the flames, without either perusing or allowing a copy of them to be taken." In a thinly disguise reference to Henry Williams, with the reference to "their Rangatira pakeha [gentlemen] correspondents", the New Zealander went on to state: "We consider these English traitors far more guilty and deserving of severe punishment, than the brave natives whom they have advised and misled. Cowards and knaves in the full sense of the terms, they have pursued their traitorous schemes, afraid to risk their own persons, yet artfully sacrificing others for their own aggrandizement, while, probably at the same time, they were most hypocritically professing most zealous loyalty."
In a letter of 25 June 1846 to W. E. Gladstone the Colonial Secretary
Colonial Secretary
Colonial Secretary may refer to:* Secretary of State for the Colonies, British Cabinet minister who headed the Colonial Office, commonly referred to as Colonial Secretary...
in Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
's government, Governor Grey referred to the land acquired by the CMS missionaries and commented that "Her Majesty's Government may also rest satisfied that these individuals cannot be put in possession of these tracts of land without a large expenditure of British blood and money”. The first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. He was Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...
, took the side of Grey in relation to the purchase of the land, and in 1849 the CMS decided to dismiss Henry from service when Henry refused to give up the land acquired for his family at Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
.
Henry and Marianne
Marianne Williams
Marianne Williams together with her sister-in-law Jane Williams were pioneering educators in New Zealand. They set up the first schools for Māori children and adults as well as educating the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
moved to Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
. Here his children were farming the land that was the source of his troubles. He continued to minister and preach in the Holy Trinity Church at Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
, which was build by his family. Henry and Marianne
Marianne Williams
Marianne Williams together with her sister-in-law Jane Williams were pioneering educators in New Zealand. They set up the first schools for Māori children and adults as well as educating the children of the Church Missionary Society in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand...
lived by the church in a house known as The Retreat, that still stands. In 1854 he was reinstated to the CMS after Bishop Selwyn and George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
addressed the committee of the CMS and requested that Henry Williams be reinstated.
Governor Grey’s first term of office ended in 1853. Sir George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
returned to New Zealand in 1861 as Governor
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
. Henry Williams welcomed his return with Sir George and Henry meeting at Waimate
Waimate North
Waimate North is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It is situated between Kerikeri and Lake Omapere, west of the Bay of Islands.Okuratope Pa was situated here and was the home to chief Te Hotete of the Ngai Tawake hapu in the late 18th-early 19th centuries...
in November 1861.
Henry Williams died on 16 July 1867 was buried in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church at Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
.
Literature and sources
(1961) - The Early Journals of Henry Williams 1826 to 1840. Christchurch : Pegasus Press. online available at New Zealand Electronic Text CentreNew Zealand Electronic Text Centre
The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...
(NZETC) (2011-06-27) (1874) - The life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate. Auckland NZ. Online available from Early New Zealand Books
Early New Zealand Books
Early New Zealand Books is a project from the library of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, launched in 2005, that aims at providing keyword-searchable text of significant books published about New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Each page is linked to an image of that page in the...
(ENZB). (2004) - Gilbert Mair, Te Kooti's Nemesis. Reed Publ. Auckland NZ. ISBN 0-7900-0969-2 (1992) - Faith and farming Te huarahi ki te ora; The Legacy of Henry Williams and William Williams. Published by Evagean Publishing, 266 Shaw Road, Titirangi, Auckland NZ. ISBN 0-908951-16-7 (soft cover), ISBN 0-908951-17-5 (hard cover), ISBN 0-908951-18-3 (leather bound) (2011) - Te Wiremu - Henry Williams: Early Years in the North, Huia Publishers, New Zealand ISBN 978-1-86969-439-5 (2004) - Letters from the Bay of Islands, Sutton Publishing Limited, United Kingdom; ISBN 0-7509-3696-7 (Hardcover). Penguin Books, New Zealand, (Paperback) ISBN 0-14-301929-5 (1998) - East Coast Pioneers. A Williams Family Portrait; A Legacy of Land, Love and Partnership. Published by The Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd, Gladstone Road, Gisborne NZ. ISBN 0-473-05118-4 (1963) - Nine New Zealanders. Christchurch NZ. The chapter 'Angry peacemaker: Henry Williams – A missionary's courage wins Maori converts' (p. 32 - 36) (2007) - Williams, Henry 1792 - 1867 in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online....
(DNZB), updated 22 June 2007 (1973) - Te Wiremu: A Biography of Henry Williams, Christchurch : Pegasus Press (1867) - Christianity among the New Zealanders. London. Online available from ENZB.
External links
- Henry Williams copy of the Treaty of WaitangiTreaty of WaitangiThe Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
on New Zealand History online. from the Dictionary of New Zealand BiographyDictionary of New Zealand BiographyThe Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online.... - The Early Journals of Henry Williams; Senior Missionary in New Zealand of the Church Missionary Society (1826–40). Edited by Lawrence M. Rogers. Pegasus Press, Christchurch 1961, at NZETCNew Zealand Electronic Text CentreThe New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...
- some sketches made by Henry Williams at NZETCNew Zealand Electronic Text CentreThe New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...
- The Character of Henry Williams described by Hugh Carleton (1874) – The Life of Henry Williams