Henry Williams (missionary)

For other uses, see Henry Williams (disambiguation).

Henry Williams
Williams about 1865
Born(1792-02-11)11 February 1792
Gosport, England
Died16 July 1867(1867-07-16) (aged 75)
Pakaraka, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
NationalityBritish
Other namesTe Wiremu and Karu-whā
OccupationMissionary
SpouseMarianne Williams (née Coldham)
RelativesWilliam Williams (brother)
Edward Marsh Williams (son)
Samuel Williams (son)
Henry Williams (son)
John William Williams (son)
Hugh Carleton (son-in-law)
Octavius Hadfield (son-in-law)

Henry Williams (11 February 1792 – 16 July 1867) was the leader of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) mission in New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century.

Williams entered the Royal 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 he wore spectacles). He was known more widely as Te Wiremu.[1] ('Wiremu' being the Māori form of 'William'). His younger brother, William Williams, was also a missionary in New Zealand and known as "the scholar-surgeon".[2] Their grandfather, the Reverend Thomas Williams (1725–1770), was a Congregational minister at the Independent Chapel of Gosport in England.[3][4][5]

Although 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".[6]

In 1840, Williams translated the Treaty of Waitangi into the Māori language, with some help from his son Edward.[7]

On 21 September 1844, Williams was installed as Archdeacon of Te Waimate in the diocese centred on Te Waimate mission.[8][9]

  1. ^ Fitzgerald, Caroline (2011). Te Wiremu: Henry Williams – Early Years in the North. Huia Publishers, New Zealand. p. xii. ISBN 978-1-86969-439-5.
  2. ^ Gillies, Iain and John (1998). East Coast Pioneers. A Williams Family Portrait; A Legacy of Land, Love and Partnership. Gisborne NZ: The Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd. p. XI. ISBN 0-473-05118-4.
  3. ^ "Williams, Thomas (?-c.1770)". Dr Williams’s Centre for Dissenting Studies. 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  4. ^ Daniels, Eilir (2010). "Research Report: Rev. Thomas Williams, Gosport, Hampshire (1724/25-1770)". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  5. ^ Harvey-Williams, Nevil (March 2011). "The Williams Family in the 18th and 19th Centuries – Part 1". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  6. ^ Mitcalfe, Barry (1963). "Angry peacemaker: Henry Williams – A missionary's courage wins Maori converts". Nine New Zealanders. Whitcombe and Tombs. p. 34.
  7. ^ "Williams, Edward Marsh 1818–1909". Early New Zealand Books (NZETC). 1952. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  8. ^ Bedggood, W.E. (1971). Brief History of St John Baptist Church Te Waimate. News, Kaikohe.
  9. ^ Evans 1992, p. 21.