Learning to read and write was, for many Māori, a powerful incentive to accept the missionaries' religious message. The demand for printed material, especially in the Māori language, greatly outstripped the supply, so a missionary-printer, William Colenso, arrived in New Zealand in 1834. His output of books, pamphlets and official publications increased after this Columbian printing press arrived in 1842.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
1/2-050378-F
Photograph by Trevor Ullyat
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.
Tāpiritia te tākupu hou