John Hobbs (missionary)

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John Hobbs in his later years

John Hobbs (born February 22, 1800 in St Peter’s , Isle of Thanet , Kent , England ; † June 24, 1883 in Auckland , New Zealand ) was a New Zealand missionary of the Wesleyan Mission and co-organizer of the second meeting to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in Māngungu Mission House in Hokianga .

Life

John Hobbs was born on February 22, 1800, the son of Elizabeth Palmer and her husband, Richard Hobbs , a carriage makers, manufacturers of equipment for agriculture and lay preacher of the Wesleyan Church , in St. Peter's on the Isle of Thanet the county Kent in England born . Hobbs learned his father's trade and business, became a member of the same parish in September 1816 and became its lay preacher in 1819.

At the age of 22 Hobbs moved to what was then Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) to help convicts there. Samuel Marsden , a clergyman in New South Wales at the time, noticed him and tried to win him over to his Church Missionary Society . But Nathaniel Turner , a missionary for the Wesleyan Mission , won him over to a mission in New Zealand. Hobbs sailed together with the missionaries Samuel Marsden , Henry Williams and Nathaniel Turner and their families from Sydney on the Brampton to New Zealand, where they reached the Bay of Islands on August 3, 1823 . It was there that Hobbs and Turner met missionaries Samuel Leigh , William White and James Stack at the Kaeo mission station , which was the first of its kind in New Zealand .

In 1827 the mission was given up due to constant attacks by the Māori and Hobbs first traveled back to Sydney , where he married Jane Broggref on August 14, 1827 , who came from Ramsgate and thus also from Kent . Their marriage had seven children, two sons and five daughters.

After Hobbs was ordained , he returned to New Zealand with his family in October 1827. Under the protection of Māori - Chiefs of Ngati Hao , Patuone , opened Hobbs in Mangungu a new mission station. He planted a garden and an orchard on the previously purchased land. But tensions between White and him led to Hobbs being reprimanded by the leadership of his church and sent to Tonga on June 6, 1833 for missionary work . There he learned the language of the locals and used his knowledge of medicine. But when his wife fell ill in February 1838, they went back to New Zealand.

Back in Māngungu , Hobbs was the driving force behind the construction of the mission house after the old house was destroyed by fire on August 19, 1838. Hobbs was also the one to the second meeting for the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 12, 1840 the Māori - Chiefs invited the region and the deputy governor William Hobson served as translator and mediator.

Hobbs made two trips to New Zealand, one in 1839 with his superintendent John Bumby to the East Cape , Port Nicholson (Wellington), Cloudy Bay , the Kapiti Coast , Taranaki and Kawhia and another in 1848 to Wanganui with his daughter Emma and to visit her husbands who were also leading a mission there.

At rheumatism sick leave Hobbs in 1855 his mission and went to Auckland . There he dedicated himself to music and created two organs with his craftsmanship. Hobbs stayed in Auckland , where he died on June 24, 1883. He was buried in the cemetery in Grafton , where Governor William Hobson found his final resting place.

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personal data
SURNAME Hobbs, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand missionary
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH St Peter's, Isle of Thanet , Kent , England
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1883
Place of death Auckland , New Zealand