I am Marianne
Marianne Williams
1793- 1879

I was born in 1793 in Norwich, England. My father, Wright Coldham, later became a prominent Nottingham politician and business owner. My mother died when I was 16 years old and I supported the running of my father’s household until he passed away in 1816.

I married Henry Williams in 1818. Our families knew each other through Nottingham Nonconformist connections. I felt called by God into missionary service and, as Henry did, spent several years in preparation. We eventually arrived in New Zealand in 1823 and settled at Paihia. 

I gave birth to my fourth child (Henry Jnr.) in our native-built raupo hut, ‘the Beehive’, shortly after our arrival. I quickly learned te reo Māori and began schooling children quite soon, although this was rudimentary until the Bible and Prayer Book were properly translated into Māori from the late 1820s.

At times I felt very homesick and kept up a detailed correspondence with our families in England. I described our amazing experiences of Māori welcome, of surviving early setbacks, and later of thriving once the scriptures were printed and began to settle in native hearts. Describing the baptism of the chief, Taiwhanga, in 1830, I wrote that ‘my feelings were never so powerfully exited’ and that ‘I deeply felt that it was the Lord’s doing and wonderful in our eyes’. 

I endured weeks on end of Henry being away on mission tours. I held the fort at Paihia, supported by my sister-in-law, Jane, once she arrived with Henry’s brother William in 1826. We never knew when, or if, Henry would return. But he always, by God’s mercy, did return and reported many marvellous things occurring to the south as Māori responded joyfully to the Gospel of Peace.

Perhaps the toughest challenge Henry and I had to face was the accusations of Governor Grey about our land purchases. Our children needed a living in this country. When Henry acquired the first piece of land from Ngāti Rāhiri and Ngāti Kawa chiefs, our eldest son (Edward) was 15 years old. But the CMS believed Grey, and Bishop Selwyn, and they dismissed Henry from their service. This was a bitter blow, which we still felt even though my husband was restored to the CMS a few years later. Although we retreated to Pākaraka, near Pouērua, Henry carried on his missionary work and baptised hundreds of Māori in the years ahead.

I am Marianne Williams. The Māori called me Te Wahine (‘the Wife’).