The CMS missionary has always occupied contested ground: as a missionary and peacemaker amongst Māori hapū and as a Treaty interpreter for the British Crown at Waitangi and in the Cook Strait region in 1840.

But who was this Englishman in the context of his upbringing and his times? And who was he within te ao Māori? What shaped his theological and political ideas, and how did these shape his translation of the Treaty of Waitangi from the English draft into the Māori text (which most rangatira signed)?

Reflecting on translation

In this talk, Dr Carpenter will explore the argument that Henry Williams reflected, in his translation, core English and evangelical-humanitarian convictions about the British Crown as a protector of Māori rights and chiefly rank and mana.

This was in a world that was rapidly changing and confronting the challenges of colonialism and global imperialism. Moreover, Williams also demands to be seen within the Māori world as Karuwhā / Four eyes or Te Wiremu — a man who primarily brought a message of peace in the context of a transformative period in Aotearoa New Zealand history.

Wednesday 12 February 2025, 12:10 pm to 1:30 pm

Online-only – Register here