John (or Johan) Frederick Henry Wohlers (originally Johann Friedrich Heinrich Wohlers, 1 October 1811 – 7 May 1885) was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

missionary from Germany who lived for 41 years on

Ruapuke Island Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in New Zealand's main chain of islands. It lies to the southeast of Bluff and northeast of Oban on Stewart Island/Rakiura. It was named "Bench Island" upon its discovery by Captain James Cook ...

, a small island in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's far south. Wohlers was born in the

North German Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

hamlet of Mahlensdorf, near

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, to Johann Gerd Wohlers and his wife Margarethe ( Ahlers). He went to a mission school, and was then sent by the

North German Missionary Society The North German Missionary Society or North German Mission is a Presbyterian Christian organisation based in Bremen formed on 19 April 1836 to unify missionary work in North Germany. The society has also been active among the Ewes in southeas ...

to New Zealand, where the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

was establishing new settlements. He left Germany on an emigrant ship the ''St Pauli'' in 1842, going first to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

where there were a number of German settlers. He went south on the ship ''Deborah'' in 1844 after he was invited by the Kāi Tahu chief

Tūhawaiki Tūhawaiki ( – 10 October 1844) — often known as ''Hone Tūhawaiki'', ''John Tūhawaiki'' or ''Jack Tūhawaiki'', or by his nickname of "Bloody Jack" — became a paramount chief of the Ngāi Tahu Māori iwi in the southern part of the S ...

to make his headquarters on

. He built a church in 1846 and had a bell with "Ruapuki" cast on it sent out from Bremen by the North German Missionary Society. He married Eliza Hanham in Wellington in 1849, and they had one daughter, Gretchen. Wohlers died on 7 May 1885 at The Neck on Stewart Island; he was survived by his wife for six years. Both are buried at Ringaringa near

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

. The "Ruapuki" bell came into the ownership of Māori elder John Topi Patuki. In 1900, it was installed at the bell tower of St Andrew's Anglican Church in Oban.

References

1811 births 1885 deaths Lutheran missionaries in New Zealand German Lutheran missionaries Clergy from Bremen German expatriates in New Zealand People from Ruapuke Island 19th-century Lutheran clergy {{NewZealand-reli-bio-stub

Further reading

References