William Williams

William Williams was an early missionary and linguist who later criticised the government’s policy of land confiscation during the New Zealand Wars. He was consecrated as the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu, New Zealand, on 3 April 1859 by the General Synod at Wellington. His son, Leonard Williams became the third Bishop of Waiapu and his grandson, Herbert Williams, the sixth. His brother, Rev. Henry Williams, led the Church Missionary Society (CMS) mission in New Zealand.

At Paihia William Williams was in charge of the English boys’ school and for a time the mission doctor. His fluency in spoken Māori was soon noted by Henry Williams. In 1826 he began the first serious, sustained effort to produce the Scriptures in Māori. By the end of 1837 he had completed the whole of the New Testament and most of the Book of Common Prayer.

William Williams spent his later life training Māori pastors and securing the future of the Māori schools he had founded.