Memorial to Henry Williams from the Māori Church, 1876.

As I’m nearing the end of a draft of a new biography of Henry Williams, I’m reading some fascinating newspaper material on the final period of his life and the memorials to him that came afterwards. The two main ones were the new Trinity Church at Pākaraka, built by his children and opened in 1873, and the memorial from the Māori Church, unveiled outside the Paihia church in 1876. Both of these memorials stand today.

Below is an amazingly detailed account, in reo Māori and reo Pākehā, of the unveiling ceremony in 1876. Rev. Matiu Taupaki, the Māori minister at Paihia, was the main instigator of the memorial, but contributions were received by iwi all over the country.

Here is the original newspaper report, from Te Waka Maori o Niu Tirani, 21 Mar. 1876, pp. 64-68;