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Story: Volcanic Plateau region

Ellen Spencer and children of the Te Wairoa mission school

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Ellen Spencer and children of the Te Wairoa mission school

The Spencers established a mission school at Te Wairoa, near the shores of Lake Tarawera, in 1852. In this 1859 picture, the children are holding prayer or hymn books. The Spencers closed the mission during the wars of the 1860s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Bruno Hamel Album

Reference: PA1-o-207-16

by Bruno L. Hamel

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

Malcolm McKinnon, Volcanic Plateau region – War and peace – the 19th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15149/ellen-spencer-and-children-of-the-te-wairoa-mission-school (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.