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Story: History

Church Missionary Society hymn

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Church Missionary Society hymn

The first Christian mission in New Zealand was founded in 1814 by a Sydney chaplain, Samuel Marsden. Though they had little success initially in converting Māori, the missionaries also wrote down the Māori language and started printing books in Māori. One of the leading missionary organisations was the Church Missionary Society. In a tract published in England after 1849 by the society to muster support, there were images of Māori and Māori life. On the page pictured here are verses of the society’s 50th jubilee hymn.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-015-009

by Church Missionary Society

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

John Wilson, History – Europeans to 1840, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/1456/church-missionary-society-hymn (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 April 2020.