William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey (1805-1878) was a British-born, New Zealand raised missionary who arrived in New Zealand at the age of 14. He picked up the Māori language quickly and became fluent, and thus formed friendships with many influential Maori from a young age. This was an effective aid in his building a firm relationship and an understanding with Māori in Northland, as few other Pakeha could communicate effectively between races.
Beginnings
Puckey was born in Penrhyn, Cornwall, England on the 5th May, 1805, to William Puckey and his wife, Margery (nee Gilbert). He then left England with his parents, who had become lay missionaries with the Church Missionary Society (CMS), and had been to various countries such as Tahiti and Australia, before arriving in New Zealand, in 1819 on one of Samuel Marsden's visits. His father was a carpenter, and it is likely both parents had reared their family with a strong focus on Christian religious values with a practical appreciation of other cultures. This background was significant to his later development of strong and effective bonds with Māori around the mission stations he worked in, (Kaitaia and Te Waimate ).
Exciting experiences
The Missionary J.G Butler recorded in his diary of SATURDAY, JANUARY 6th. 1821:
Looking after the stores in the morning; in the afternoon we were much alarmed by fire. One of the carpenters' sons, named Wm. Puckey, a boy of about fourteen years of age, set fire to the fern, which had like to have burned our standing wheat, the day being windy and the fern high. The fire raged with great fury, so that, with the assistance of a great many natives, we had great difficulty in saving the corn, and putting it out. Mr. F. Hall had some barley burned, but not much.
Over the years, Puckey had many different experiences that helped shaped his relationships with Māori people, such as the account of Puckey saving a young Māori boy’s life. The unnamed boy was to be thrown into a nearby, raging river by tribesmen. The missionary suggested he buy the boy from them, so he rushed back to the mission station to get some money, and when he returned, he was horrified to see the boy was thrown into the river. Acting bravely, Puckey dived in, fully clothed and rescued the boy who joined the Puckey household and showed immense admiration and respect for the man for the rest of his days. Some amazing pioneering work that Puckey did, was build New Zealand’s first land yacht , which he rode up Ninety-Mile Beach and explored parts of the Far-North in.
Impact on Northland
During Puckey’s lifetime, he influenced the region of Northland greatly. Puckey was a jack-of-all-trades and as well as being a gifted builder, he was also an accomplished linguist that could correctly communicate parts of the Bible into the Māori language. A lot of Puckey’s life work in translating parts of the book into Māori, developed new relationships between not just Puckey and the Natives, but other missionaries and them also. Māori that were “saved” in the Christian sense, due to Puckey, often spent there life on the mission station, helping to convert other Māori. Thus Puckey contributed to a chain reaction of conversion in Nga Puhi communities.
A Man of honour
Puckey lived his life as a true man with a lot of integrity; he maintained strong connections with the church and with the purpose of converting the Māori into Christianity and translating the Gospel so they could understand it. Even into his later years when he was bedridden and hard on hearing, he still maintained time to give a ‘nugget’ of wisdom to a young Māori that might happen to come by. Acts like these gave him the respect of Nga Puhi chiefs, such as Paerata and Pana-kareao. When Puckey’s daughter insulted Hongi Heke by telling his daughter that her father’s head, which was tapu , was going to be cut off after an argument, a Māori war party was sent to raid the Puckey residence. The only thing that saved the family was probably William Puckey’s great respect or mana that he had from his life work in Northland, around the Māori.
Significance of lifework
Puckey’s relationship with Māori was well documented on his travels up to the North Cape. He journeyed up Ninety-Mile Beach in a boat, and at one stage he fell overboard and one of his Māori converts faithfully jumped in and rescued him. This kind act correctly displays how various Māori respected the missionary and it also shows how strong the relationship was.
Legacy
William Puckey left a legacy that enriched Kaitaia and the Northland region. Because he was a skilled builder, carpenter, inventor and architect, many of Kaitaia’s original buildings and roads were made by the great man. Tools that he used still remain in the Far North Museum today. Some prominent relatives of William Puckey include a Māori Land Court judge and the current Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson. William Gilbert Puckey died in 1878, age 73.
References
- Pickmere, Nancy; The Story of Paihia
Calder’s Design and Print, Whangarei, 2000 Pg: 26 ISBN 0-473-06767-6
- Keene, Florence; Kaitaia and its People
Allied Graphics, Whangarei, 1989 Pg: 82-84 ISBN: 0-908817-05-3
- Preece, Nancy; A Lamp Shines in Kerikeri
News Limited, Kaikohe, 1969 Pg: 10, 11, 12, 27, 28
- Williams, A.M.S.M; Life of W.G. Puckey
1932 Pg: 1, 7, 11, 23
- Journals and Letters of the Rev. W.G. Puckey – 1831 – 1868
Special Collections, Auckland Public Library Pg: 3, 98, 141, 201, 299, 385, 453
- Fitzgerald, C (Editor);
Letters From the Bay of Islands: The Story of Marianne Williams Penguin Books, Auckland, 2004 Pg: 61, 87, 251