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Story: Missions and missionaries

Burning of the Boyd

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Burning of the <em>Boyd</em>

In revenge for the cruel treatment of one of their chiefs, Whangaroa Māori attacked and burned a visiting ship, the Boyd, in 1809. This 1839 drawing shows two dead sailors in the foreground. Three waka (canoes) are heading for the ship, while other Māori are already climbing its rigging. The massacre held up Samuel Marsden's plans to start a mission in the Bay of Islands.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PUBL-0034-2-390

by Louis Auguste de Sainson

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Peter J. Lineham, Missions and missionaries – First missionaries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/27993/burning-of-the-boyd (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter J. Lineham, published 23 March 2011.