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Story: Publishing

Corrections to New Testament proofs

The New Testament had been translated into Māori by William Williams who began the work six months after he had arrived in New Zealand as a missionary in 1826. It was printed by William Colenso in 1837. This page shows Williams's corrections to the proofs of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5. Williams went on to translate the Anglican Book of common prayer, 27,000 copies of which were printed by Colenso in 1839.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: MS-2417

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

Elizabeth Caffin, Publishing – Church and state: the first publishers, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/42240/corrections-to-new-testament-proofs (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Elizabeth Caffin, published 2 August 2013.