James and Mary Wallis

James and Mary Wallis were Wesleyan missionaries and the first European Settlers in Raglan, New Zealand.

Born in 1809 in Blackwall, London, James Wallis felt the call to ministry at a young age after a personal spiritual awakening. In 1834 - after being accepted for a position to the Pacific via the Wesleyan Missionary Society - he married Mary Ann Reddick. A few weeks later they were aboard a vessel bound for Australia en route to the fledgling Mission at Mangungu, in the Hokianga, New Zealand.

After several months in Hobart, Australia, James and Mary arranged a vessel to carry them to the Hokianga Harbour, New Zealand whereby they arrived on 1 December 1834. Immediately upon entering the harbour mouth, their ship was caught by a gust of wind and laid

“nearly on her beam ends and the rocks. Recovering from this danger the captain ran his vessel a mile or two up the river and dropped anchor at the pilot station . A few minutes after the anchor was down a large number of natives came on board whose wild antics and unitelligable jargon gave us an insight into the kind of people among whom out lot was to be cast for an indefinite time”

After several months at Mangungu, where a Mission Station was already established and a new mission house was under construction, James was surprised at the practical nature of his work “A New Zealand Missionary was to be a man of all work”. Eventually becoming frustrated at the lack of spiritual input he was able to contribute he pushed for a new mission base to be established under his leadership in the Kawhia and Whaingaroa (now known as Raglan) regions further south on the west coast of the North Island.

In April 1835, James and Mary Wallis, along with another missionary couple and a number Maori Chiefs from Hokianga arrived – via a three-day sailing journey at Kāwhia Harbour. The Hokianga Chiefs spoke in favor of the missionaries and a crowd of about 1,000 were present to celebrate their arrival.

While Mrs Wallis stayed at Kawhia with the other missionaries, James journeyed on foot to Raglan, a distance of about 30 km across very rough terrain with his local Maori guide who had been expecting his arrival - some 12 months previous, the establishment of a mission station had been agreed between Maori Chiefs and members of a Wesleyan reconnaissance tour of the region....

“Here [at Raglan] I was met with a warm reception from the natives who from various considerations welcomed me as their future instructor. A rush hut about eight feet by five feet was assigned to me as my residence.... Building of the Mission House was undertaken by some fifty or sixty men, only about a third of whom worked at one time all the rest looking on, and occasionally suggesting an improved style of architecture. In the course of a few weeks, the house was finished so far as labor was needed..... As soon as the house was habitable Mrs. Wallis was fetched by a dozen natives who carried her in a sedan of their own construction."

...
Wikipedia