Samuel Marsden - New Zealand Missionary

 


Born in England and based in New South Wales, Marsden was a Church Missionary Society (CMS) member. His work and that of his missionaries helped build trust with Māori chiefs, paving the way for the acceptance of an official Crown presence in New Zealand.

Marsden protested to the British authorities about the trade in Māori heads, the involvement of the British in tribal conflicts, and lawlessness in Kororāreka, a mixed-race settlement in the Bay of Islands. (this is where my family story joins with Samuel Marsden) He helped convince the Governor of New South Wales to support the appointment of a British Resident in New Zealand to deal with perceived anarchy in British settlements – a crucial link in the chain of events that ultimately led to Britain deciding to seek sovereignty over New Zealand.



This sketch is Samuel Marsden preaching the first sermon to Māori chiefs from the Bay of Islands on Christmas Day, 1814.



He visited New Zealand many times, supporting the missionaries, often using his money and a boat he purchased to transport Māori people back and forth to NSW. My 2 times great-grandmother, Margaret Elizabeth Maria and her eldest brother, Alexander, were bought to NSW from lawless Kororāreka on Samuel Marsden's last trip from New Zealand in 1837. They probably worked on his farm Cardington, where Margaret married William Gourlay in 1845.


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