William Yate (3 November 1802 – 26 July 1877) was one of the earliest New Zealand missionaries and writers who worked for the

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

. He was born in

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...

, Shropshire, England in 1802. He joined the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS) and entered the

Church Missionary Society College, Islington The Church Missionary Society Training College in Islington, north London was founded in 1820 to prepare Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society for work overseas. Prior to the establishment of the College the CMS missionaries re ...

, London, in 1825. He was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

on 18 December 1825, and priest on 21 May 1826. Yate learned the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

and had Christian texts printed in Sydney for his work. The Revd. Yate arrived 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 its ...

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 ...

on 19 January 1828 on . The Revd. Yate took a small printing press with him to the Bay of Islands and used it to produce a version of the third catechism in Māori, ''Ko te katihama'' III. With only a fortnight's training as a printer in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South-Wales, however, he found the task exasperatingly difficult and attempted nothing further on his press. In 1830 during Yate's stay in Sydney, he supervised the printing of an edition of 550 copies of a translations of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis; the first eight chapters of the Gospel according to St. Matthew; the first four chapters of the Gospel according to St. John; the first six chapters of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians; parts of the Liturgy and Catechism. In 1830 he was appointed to lead Te Waimate mission, however reports of his sexual encounters with young Māori men became a matter of controversy and he was dismissed from the CMS in June 1834. ]

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yate, William 1802 births 1877 deaths 19th-century LGBT people English Anglican missionaries English emigrants to New Zealand Anglican missionaries in New Zealand Gay men LGBT Christian clergy New Zealand writers People from Bridgnorth