The Venerable Archdeacon Robert Maunsell was a significant figure in New Zealand’s colonial history, a pioneering Church Missionary Society missionary to New Zealand and an accomplished linguist and translator.
He arrived at the Bay of Islands in 1835, where he worked at the Te Waimate and Manukau missions and worked with William Williams on a revised translation of the Māori language Bible, primarily on the Old Testament portions. He was also a translator of the Book of Common Prayer and published the Grammar of the New Zealand Language in 1842.
Rev. Maunsell secured 32 Māori signatures to the Treaty of Waitangi under the conviction that it would help protect Māori from harm. He later publicly stated that he believed its guarantees were not adequately supported.
In 1849, Rev. Maunsell was the first minister to conduct a Christian service in Auckland, and served as the Archdeacon of Auckland until 1883.
Maunsell considered the Taranaki War unjust and advocated for the recognition of the Māori King and condemned government land confiscation in the Waikato in 1863
He passed away in April 1894.
Rev. Maunsell’s Biography at TEARA
Robert Maunsell’s Wikipedia Page
Rev. Robert Maunsell
Died 1894
IMAGE: Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare O Rehua Whanganui, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
