John Gare Butler (March 1781 – 18 June 1841) was the first ordained clergyman to reside 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 ...

with the Church Missionary Society (CMS). In 1818 he was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

by the

Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...

. Butler and the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

workers at the mission at Kerikeri established a small mixed farm, which involved the first use in New Zealand of an agricultural plough, which was pulled by team of six bullocks. Butler arranged for the building of

Mission House The Mission House at Kerikeri in New Zealand was completed in 1822 as part of the Kerikeri Mission Station by the Church Missionary Society, and is New Zealand's oldest surviving building. It is sometimes known as Kemp House. Samuel Marsden est ...

in Kerikeri.

Church Missionary Society mission in New Zealand

In 1818 he was appointed by the CMS Committee in London to the position of superintendent of the CMS mission in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

, New Zealand, while being subordinate to the Rev.

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a prom ...

, the CMS's Agent in

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, Australia. Disputes arose between Butler and Marsden, such as, when Marsden refusing to honour a payment draft for timber, purchased for the mission by Butler, and also when goods were retained in Sydney and not sent to the mission in the Bay of Islands. In 1822 he wrote letters of complaint to Marsden and Revd. Josiah Pratt, the secretary of the CMS in London. The disputes continued into 1823, by correspondence and during Marsden's visit to the Bay of Islands. On 13 January 1824, Marsden suspended Butler from his position.

Return to England

On 10 July 1824 Butler, his wife and their daughter Hannah, sailed on the ''Midas'' for England. The records of the CMS in London noted that Butler withdrew from the CMS on 16 February 1825. His son, Samuel Butler, remained in New Zealand, engaging in the flax trade in

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

, until his death by drowning in 1836. In 1828 Butler published through G. R. Gittore, of Bridgenorth, an edition of Psalms and hymns, "Abridged, arranged and adapted to Public Worship, selected from the best authors." From 1825 to 1839 he was appointed as the clergyman of various parishes in England, such as, in 1836 to the parish of Haddenham, Isle of Ely.

Return to New Zealand

On the 20 April 1840 he arrived at Port Nicholson,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

on a

New Zealand Land 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 ...

ship, the ''Bolton''. Butler was appointed to a parish at

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

and he was a Māori welfare agent until he fell ill in March 1841; and his death followed on 18 June 1841.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, John Gare 1781 births 1841 deaths Anglican missionaries in New Zealand English Anglican missionaries