Samuel Ironside (9 September 1814–24 April 1897) was an English Methodist missionary in New Zealand, where he became a supporter and signatory of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

."Samuel Ironside in New Zealand", W. A. Chambers, His brother Isaac Ironside remained in Sheffield, becoming a notable Chartist.

Biography

Ironside was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England on 9 September 1814. After studying at a Wesleyan theological college, he left England to seek missionary work in the South Seas and arrived at

Hokianga The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Mā ...

, New Zealand, in 1839. Within a few months, Ironside became fluent in the Maori language and was a witness to the

which established British sovereignty over New Zealand. In the same year, he established what was called the Cloudy Bay Mission at Ngakuta Bay, at the head of Port Underwood, on 20 December 1840. During 1842 he established Wesleyan centres at Nelson and Motueka. In 1843 his warnings about Maori unrest failed to avert a massacre at Wairua near Nelson. He sailed to the site of conflict to bury the dead. Ironside then moved to Wellington and became active in public life. He was a member of the committee which arranged the Te Aro land purchase of 1844 and witnessed the Maori's signatures to the document. He advised the government on Maori affairs, at the same time retaining the respect and admiration of the Maori population. He worked at Nelson from 1849 to 1854 and then at New Plymouth. After moving to Australia in 1857 he worked as a missionary in Sydney, Adelaide and later Melbourne, where he was also secretary to the Victorian foreign mission. He retired to Hobart in 1878 and remained there until his death.

References

1814 births 1897 deaths English Methodist missionaries Clergy from Sheffield English emigrants to New Zealand Methodist missionaries in New Zealand 19th-century Methodists {{NewZealand-reli-bio-stub