Samuel Marsden was New Zealand's first missionary. When did he first come to NZ?

What religion/church did Samuel Marsden bring to NZ?

Where did Samuel Marsden set up NZ's first mission?

Marsden believed that if Māori became interested in British ways of life, they would naturally want to become Christians, so he offered training in...

In 1820, Bay of Islands rangatira (chiefs) Hongi Hika and Waikato travelled to England with missionary Thomas Kendall. When they were there they helped him write a book called A grammar and vocabulary of the language of New Zealand. This laid the foundations for the way te reo Māori is written today.

In 1820, Bay of Islands rangatira (chiefs) Hongi Hika and Waikato also travelled to meet the King George IV.

The missionaries encouraged peace, and sometimes sailed with waka taua (war canoes), as shown here. They hoped to mediate between warring tribes

After 10 year's NZ's first mission in the Bay of Islands failed to convert a single Maori to Christianity.

Henry Williams took over as the mission's leader in 1823. He focused more on spiritual teaching, and demanded that mission members improve their Māori language skills and preach to local tribes. He was also a good mediator he and it was because of him that some Maori converted to Christianity in...

Wesleyan missionaries arrived in...

Catholic missionaries arrived in...

In 1834, the Church Missionary Society employed William Colenso to set up a printing press at the mission in the Bay of Islands. Colenso published Māori translations of biblical passages and, in 1837, a translation of the entire New Testament. These first books in te reo Māori provided a vehicle for Māori to learn to read and write in their own language. This led to...

The promise of literacy drew local Māori to Christianity in increasing numbers. By 1840, around how many Maori in the Bay of Islands area had been baptised?