Report from Joseph Orton

In the early 1840s Riwha Tītokowaru was baptised as Hohepa Ōtene (Joseph Orton) by the Methodist missionary John Skevington. This report confirms his attendance at a Wesleyan missions meeting at Onehunga in 1858.

Tītokowaru acquired a thorough knowledge of the Bible while working for Skevington as an assistant teacher. He learnt to write in Māori, a skill that he would use to strategic advantage during his war. Following Skevington’s death in 1845 Tītokowaru worked with the missionary William Hough at Pātea.