Rawiri Taiwhanga

Rawiri Taiwhanga (fl. 18181874) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader, farmer, missionary and teacher; of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāpuhi iwi.[1] He was the father of Sydney Taiwhanga.

On 7 February 1830 he was baptised.[1] He was the first high-ranking Māori to be converted to Christianity.[2] This gave the missionary work of the Church Missionary Society led by the Rev. Henry Williams a great impetus, as it influenced many others to do the same.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.