Shirley Waldemar Baker

Shirley Waldemar Baker (* 1836 in London , † November 16, 1903 in Pangai , Tonga ) was a Methodist missionary and Prime Minister of Tonga from April 1881 to July 1890 .

Life

First stay in Tonga

Baker had come to Tonga from Australia in 1860 as a missionary for a Wesleyan missionary society and quickly found good contact with Taufa'ahau, who later became King George Tupou I. He also helped draft the Tongan laws of 1862. One of these laws, the Emancipation Decree, released the Tongans from official duties for their chiefs.

First return to Australia

Because he had not received the appreciation of his fellow missionaries and his wife had become ill, he returned to Australia in 1866. He traveled as a preacher in New South Wales and made a name for himself among the Wesleyans. In 1869 he was elected chairman of the Tonga district of his mission society.

Second stay in Tonga

Baker after signing the German-Tongan friendship treaty of 1876 (center of picture with pith helmet)

In 1869 Baker came back to the country and again advised the ruler. During this time he worked on the constitution of September 16, 1875. In 1876 he was involved in the translation of the friendship treaty between the German Empire and Tonga and signed it on November 1, 1876 as an interpreter.

In 1879, Baker was expelled from the Wesleyan Mission Society. In 1885, at the request of the king, Baker founded the Free Church of Tonga. In 1887, some unwilling to change churches were charged with the attempted murder of Shirley Baker and deported to Fiji . Baker later had to leave Tonga himself at the request of the British government.

literature

Noel Rutherford: Baker, Shirley Waldemar (1836-1903) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 3. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1969. 2nd edition 1974, ISBN 0-522-83909-6 (English).

Web links

Wikisource: Friendship treaty between His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia etc. in the name of the German Empire, and His Majesty the King of Tonga. November 1, 1876. - Sources and full texts

Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga ( February 20, 2015 memento in the Internet Archive )
Newsletter of the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau (references to primary literature; please scroll down)

Individual evidence

↑ Johannes H. Voigt : Tonga and the Germans or: Imperialist Obstetrics for a Nation in the Pacific. In: Hermann Joseph Hiery (ed.): Die Deutsche Südsee 1884–1914. A manual. 2nd Edition. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2002, ISBN 3-506-73912-3 , pp. 712-724, here p. 718.

personal data
SURNAME	Baker, Shirley Waldemar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Methodist missionary and Prime Minister of Tonga
DATE OF BIRTH	1836
PLACE OF BIRTH	London
DATE OF DEATH	November 16, 1903
Place of death	Pangai , Tonga

[1] Johannes H. Voigt : Tonga and the Germans or: Imperialist Obstetrics for a Nation in the Pacific. In: Hermann Joseph Hiery (ed.): Die Deutsche Südsee 1884–1914. A manual. 2nd Edition. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2002, ISBN 3-506-73912-3 , pp. 712-724, here p. 718.