Reverend Samuel Marsden was the driving force behind the establishment of Anglican mission stations in New Zealand.
Samuel Marsden
Personal details
Full Name:
Samuel Marsden
Lifetime:
25 Jun 1765 – 12 May 1838
Biography
Events In History
17 April 1820
The American sealer General Gates – named for a War of Independence general and commanded by Captain Abimileck Riggs – had sailed from Boston in October 1818.
25 September 1819
Missionary Samuel Marsden planted a vineyard on the site of a new Church Missionary Society station at Kerikeri.
25 December 1814
At Hohi (Oihi) Beach in the Bay of Islands, Samuel Marsden preached in English to a largely Māori gathering, launching New Zealand’s first Christian mission.
Articles
Go-betweens
An important feature of early cross-cultural contact in New Zealand was the role of intermediaries (kaiwhakarite) who acted as go-betweens – people from one culture who lived within the other culture and helped bridge the gap between the two. Read the full article
Page 3 - Māori intermediaries: Ruatara
In 1805 the Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara left New Zealand on the whaling ship Argo with the intention of meeting King George
Missionaries
The Christian missionaries of the pre-1840s have been described as the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', although they were not immune to moral blemish themselves. Read the full article
Page 2 - Establishing the Church Missionary Society
Samuel Marsden was a key figure in the establishment of the first Christian mission in New Zealand.
Main image: Samuel Marsden
Convict artist Joseph Backler's painting of Samuel Marsden shortly before his death in 1838
