New Zealand & Polynesian Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1838-1958
New Zealand & Polynesian records in the USPG archive
The missionaries were not lacking in courage and resolution, but inevitably they saw the Māori from a vastly different cultural vantage point. They were not qualified by education… to recognise that the Māori had a way of life in some respects superior to the European.Wesley Historical Society (NZ)
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New Zealand and Polynesia through the eyes of missionaries, 1838-1958
This collection contains records compiled by the United Society Partners in Gospel (USPG), a UK-based Anglican missionary organisation that operates around the world. From the 18th to the early-20th century, the USPG went by the name of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG).
Anglican missionaries first arrived in New Zealand and Polynesia in the 17th century, their mission was to spread the gospel to the indigenous Māori and Polynesian people. The arrival of Europeans disrupted traditional ways of life.
This collection includes letters, journals and supplementary material composed by the SPG’s New Zealand and Polynesian branches during the period 1838-1958. These documents contain a wealth of information, including: progress of the mission, relations with the indigenous Polynesians, the geography of the land, and insights into how monetary grants were spent.
Contents
New Zealand & Polynesian Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1838-1958...
New Zealand & Polynesian records in the USPG archive
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Volumes
Insights
- Correspondence from New Zealand, between 1840 and 1875, includes descriptions of missionaries' early encounters with the indigenous Māori.
- Documents in the volume 'Melanesia Diocese, 1838-1958' consist almost entirely of the private correspondence of Bishop John Coleridge Patteson (1827-1871). Contents lists at the start of these documents allow easy navigation.
- Documents include correspondence from missions based in the West Indies. These items are indexed in the volume ‘Indices to the New Zealand province record in the USPG archive’. Subjects covered include monetary grants and the allocation of Bishops.
- The volume 'New Zealand Diocese, 1838-1875' includes the correspondence and journals of George Selwyn, the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand.
