Tangiteroria Wesleyan Mission Station
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| From the Hockcn Collection - Otago University |
Among the mission stations in Northland there is this one that I wasn't aware of until now. The Tangiteroria Mission Station was located just outside of Dargaville in the Northern Kaipara on the banks of the Wairoa River and was established around 1836 until about1853.
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| Picture from TeAra.Govt.NZ |
Other mission stations were also built at Mangungu, Kawhia, Whaingaroa, Aotea, New Plymouth, Te Kopua, Pakanae, Mokau, Mangawhare, Auckland, Waima, Wellington, Port Underwood and Waikouaiti.
This mission station was set up by James Wallis and then run by James Buller. A bit about James Wallis is that he was born in 1809 in Blackwell, London and was accepted for a position to the Pacific with the Wesleyan Missionary Society before marrying Mary Ann Reddick. They spent a few months in Hobart, Australia before sailing to the Hokianga Harbour and stayed at the Mangungu Mission Station where James became frustrated at the lack of spiritual input he was able to give he pushed for other mission stations to be established further south in Kawhia and Raglan.
Around May 1836 word was received from the Wesleyan Missionary Society that the area south of Manukau would be handled by the Church Missionary Society and that all missionaries around Kawhia and Raglan would withdraw. It was then decided that Wallis would now start a new mission station in the Kaipara at Tangiteroria. Here they worked hard building the house and gardens - because most of the Maori settlements were some distance away James had to travel sometimes quite far to to preach the gospel.
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| This memorial in Raglan was set up to remember them both. |
After 12 months of labour a visit from Raglan Maori urged him to return to their region with news that many were were still attending church and and learning to read under their own peoples leadership. Wallis wrote to London and requested permission to return to Raglan and about October 1838 this was approved. Tangiteroria had some success with a local chief beginning to attend worship sessions while learning to read and write so Wallis left James Buller with taking over the mission station.
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| Photo from Find a Grave by Carl N |
James and Mary Wallis moved to Auckland in 1866. Mary Ann died in Mount Eden in 1893, she is buried in Symonds Street Cemetery with James buried next to her after his death in 1895.
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