Thomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall was one of New Zealand’s first Christian missionaries. He pioneered the transcription of the Māori language, and also investigated how Māori understood the universe.
Read more...Articles
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.
-
Page 3 – Men of vice or virtue?
Thomas Kendall established the first mission school, but he was later suspended after admitting an adulterous affair with a Maori woman.
-
Page 5 – Wesleyans and Catholics
How Maori responded to the arrival of Wesleyan and Catholic missionaries in the Bay of Islands
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.
- Page 3 - Maori intermediaries: RuataraIn 1805 the Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara left New Zealand on the whaling ship Argo with the intention of meeting King George
