John Whiteley

John Whiteley (20 July 1806 – 13 February 1869) was a missionary for the Wesleyan Missionary Society (WMS) in New Zealand, active from his arrival in the country in 1833 up until his death. Born in England, he came to New Zealand with his wife and initially settled in the Hokianga where there was an existing WMS mission station. As the WMS expanded its activities in the country, Whiteley later established and ran a mission at Kawhia for several years. He subsequently worked in the Taranaki region, where the colonists there had become embroiled in land disputes with the local Māori. The tensions in the area meant Whiteley, sympathetic to the settlers' cause, found it difficult to carry out his missionary work. On 13 February 1869, he was murdered at Pukearuhe by a Ngāti Maniapoto war party. Early life Born on 20 July 1806 at Kneesall in Nottinghamshire, England, John Whiteley was the son of a grocer, James Whiteley, and his wife, Elizabeth . He was educated at Farnsfield, after which he started an apprenticeship as a baker. In 1831, he joined the Wesleyan Missionary Society (WMS) for training in the Wesleyan ministry. In September the following year, he married Mary Ann née Cooke. Soon afterwards, at Lambeth Chapel in London, he was ordained into the ministry. New Zealand Whiteley and his wife left for New Zealand in October 1832 aboard the New Zealander, arriving there in May the following year. He was initially based at the WMS Māngungu Mission in the Hokianga. Within a few months, his wife gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl, one of six children he would have with his wife. He studied the Māori language, in which he became sufficiently proficient that he was tasked with helping to establish another mission station. The WMS had decided to expand its activities in New Zealand and Whiteley was sent on a reconnaissance visit to Kawhia. Christianity had already reached Kawhia through the activities of Māori, formerly slaves of the Northland iwi (tribes), who had been freed due to the influence of missionaries. Arriving in Kawhia in March 1834, Whiteley was welcomed by local Māori and invited to set up a mission.