Richard Taylor (21 March 1805 – 10 October 1873) was a Church Missionary Society (CMS)

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He was born on 21 March 1805 at Letwell,

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, one of four children of Richard Taylor and his wife, Catherine Spencer. He attended

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

and after graduating BA in 1828, he was ordained as a priest on 8 November 1829. In 1835, he was conferred MA and appointed a missionary in New Zealand for the CMS.

Church Missionary Society

Taylor was present at the signing 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 ...

on 6 February 1840. In 1840, he was appointed as head of the school at Te Waimate mission, then in 1842 posted to the CMS mission station at

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

. By 1844, the brick church built by the Revd John Mason was inadequate to meet the needs of the congregation and it had been damaged in an earthquake. A new church was built under the supervision of the Revd Richard Taylor with the timber supplied by each

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

on the river in proportion to its size and number of Christians. His travels as a missionary extended into the

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

and Taupō regions to the north of Whanganui. In March 1846 he hosted Governor

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

when he visited Whanganui. In 1848, Taylor wrote ''A Leaf from the Natural History of New Zealand'' (1848). In 1849, he travelled back to Whanganui via

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

from meeting of CMS missionaries in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

. His missionary travels include travelling up the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

to settlements such as Pipiriki and to Lake Rotoaira at the base of Mount Tongariro. He named settlements along the Whanganui River Ātene (Athens), Koriniti (Corinth), Hiruhārama (

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

) and Rānana (London) and the

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

suburb of Taylorville is named after him. After his death on 19 October 1873, his son, the Revd Basil Kirke Taylor, took over the Whanganui mission. He wrote numerous books about the natural and cultural environment of New Zealand in his time.

Gallery

File:-Butterflies- (48753093116).jpg, Illustrations of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, Polygonia c-album and a Swallowtail butterfly File:489 of 'Te Ika a Maui, or, New Zealand and its inhabitants, etc' (11046158666).jpg, Plate 1 of ''Te Ika a Maui''. File:Dactylanthus taylorii01.jpg, '' Dactylanthus taylorii'' named after its discoverer, Richard Taylor. File:George Sherriff - Untitled (Procession with Rev Richard Taylor, Hoani Wiremu Hipango and his family walking by the third Putiki Mission Station church) - Sarjeant Gallery.jpg, The Rev Richard Taylor with

Hoani Wiremu Hīpango Hoani Wiremu Hīpango ( 1820 – 25 February 1865) was a Māori tribal leader, teacher and assessor of the Whanganui River area of New Zealand. He was a leader of Ngāti Tumango, of the Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi iwi. He converted to Christia ...

and family walking by the third Putiki Mission church.
Artist: George Sherriff

Works

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Richard (missionary) 1805 births 1873 deaths Clergy from Yorkshire Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand Anglican priests Treaty of Waitangi Signatories of the Treaty of Waitangi Missionary botanists Botanists active in New Zealand New Zealand naturalists Fellows_of_the_Geological_Society_of_London

Church Missionary Society

Gallery

Works

Further reading

References