David MacNish ( 1812 – 10 April 1863) was a New Zealand interpreter, labourer, bricklayer, farmer and

Pākehā Māori Pākehā Māori were early European settlers (known as Pākehā in the Māori language) who lived among the Māori in New Zealand. History Many Pākehā Māori were runaway seamen or escaped Australian convicts who settled in Māori communities ...

. He was born in

Trelawny Parish Trelawny (Jamaican Patois: ''Trilaani'' or ''Chrilaani'') is a parish in the county of Cornwall in northwest Jamaica. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by the parishes of Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and Saint Elizab ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in 1812 or 1813, the son of a Scottish-born estate overseer, David MacNish Sr. and Rebecca Mulloy, a slave woman of mixed Irish and African ancestry - so he was also a slave, until

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that ...

by his father in 1820. He was educated in Scotland and England, and travelled to India and Australia before settling in New Zealand at

Raglan Harbour Raglan is a small beachside town located 48 km west of Hamilton, New Zealand on State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches. History The Ngāti Māhanga iwi occupied the area around Raglan in the lat ...

and marrying Te Ani, the daughter of the local paramount chief, Te Moanaroa. They had seven children, all of whom went by the slightly altered surname, McNeish.

References

1807 births 1863 deaths New Zealand farmers Interpreters Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Pākehā Māori 19th-century translators Immigrants to New Zealand Jamaican emigrants People from Raglan, New Zealand People from Trelawny Parish Linguists from Jamaica Jamaican people of Scottish descent Jamaican people of Irish descent New Zealand people of Scottish descent New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand people of Jamaican descent {{NewZealand-bio-stub