William Williams (bishop)
Encyclopedia
William Williams was the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu
and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.
to Thomas and Mary Williams. After the death of Thomas in 1804 Mary Williams moved with her younger children to Southwell, Nottinghamshire where she open a school for young ladies. William Williams was educated at Southwell Grammar School. He completed an apprenticeship to a Southwell surgeon. William, like his brother Henry
, was influenced by the Rev. Edward Garrard Marsh
, the husband of his sister Lydia, who was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). William entering Magdalen Hall (later Hertford College), Oxford, in 1822, as a prospective CMS trainee. He came down from Oxford in 1824 with a BA in Classics. On 26 September 1824 William was ordained as a deacon
, and priest, on 19 December 1824. In 1825 he entered the CMS Training College, Islington, London, with the intention of following his brother Henry
to New Zealand
.
On 11 July 1825, he married Jane Nelson
of Newark-on-Trent
, Nottinghamshire
, a teacher at his mother’s school. On 12 August they embarked on the Sir George Osborne to sail to Sydney
, Australia
, then on to Paihia
, Bay of Islands
, where they arrived on 25 March 1826.
William had a talent for the study of the Māori language and worked with his brother Henry
on translating the Bible into Māori. After 1826 William took over responsibility for leading the CMS missionaries in further translation of the Bible and other Christian literature. In July 1827 the first Māori Bible was printed comprising 3 chapters of Genesis, 20th chapter of Exodus, 1st chapter of the Gospel of St John, 30 verses of the 5th chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, the Lord’s Prayer and some hymns. In 1833 further parts of the Maori Bible were published.
Rev. Robert Maunsell also worked with William Williams on the translation of the Bible. William Williams concentrated on the New Testament; Maunsell worked on the Old Testament, portions of which were published in 1840 with the full translation completed in 1857. William Gilbert Puckey
also collaborated with William Williams on the translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1837 and its revision in 1844.
William Williams published the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar in 1844.
and their family move to Waimate
. On 23rd & 24th December 1835 Charles Darwin
visited while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands
.
, most of them Ngāti Porou
. Between July and November 1834 he and Alfred Nesbit Brown walked through the Thames and Waikato regions. In January 1838, he walked from East Cape to Tūranga, Poverty Bay
with William Colenso, Richard Matthews and James Stack. William returned to the East Coast with Richard Taylor from March to May 1839. These journeys convinced William of the need to establish a CMS mission on the East Coast in Gisborne
area. During this journey William found that Māori christian teachers had stated a school at Rangitukia and a chapel at
Whakawhitirā. He chose land for a house at the Ngāti Kaipoho pā of Umukapua, near Tūranga.
and their family arrived at Tūranga, Poverty Bay
on 31 December 1839.
The first mission station was built on the banks of the Waipaoa River and was named Kaupapa (to plan; first stage or step) Rev. William Williams lived at Tūranga until 1850. The schools run by William and Jane were well attended, the classes school opened with five classes for men, two classes for women and classes for boys. Classes covered practical knowledge as well as the teaching of the scriptures. During this time the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn
, appointed William as archdeacon of the East Cape on 27 November 1842, and on 3 April 1859 William became the first Bishop of Waiapu
, basing his diocese in Waerenga-ā-Hika, Poverty Bay
, where he established a school to train Māori missionaries.
William attempted to limit the acquisition of land by the New Zealand Association
. In a letter to Edward Garrard Marsh
of 8 January 1840 William explained his plans to follow his brother Henry's lead in acquiring land to hold in ‘trust’
for the benefit of the Māori from whom the land had been purchased: "In proceeding to Turanga it is my intention to buy as much land as may suffice for the inhabitants, and I also hope to take the same step at Waiapu and Wairoa, & then I will set the association at defiance." However this attempt was thwarted by Governor Gipps
' proclamation of 14 January 1840, which annulled the trust deed that conveyed title over the Tūranga land - at this time the commission of the Governor of the colony of New South Wales extended to any land that might be acquired in New Zealand.
In 1850 William and his family left for England, where he was involved the successful representations to have his brother Henry
restored to membership of the Church Missionary Society - Henry having been dismissed from the CMS as a consequence of his refusal to follow the orders of Bishop Selwyn to give up land that Henry had acquired at Pakaraka
.
William Williams returned to Waerenga-ā-Hika and lived there from 1853 to 1865. William left Waerenga-ā-Hika in 1865, when it was threatened by a band of Hauhau
. William and Jane
returned to Paihia
where he established a Māori missionary training school at Horotutu.
The other CMS missionaries on the East Coast at this time were James Stack (Rangitukia 1842-1847), George Kissling (Kawakawa/Te Araroa 1843-46), Charles Baker (Tolaga Bay 1843-61) and Thomas Grace (Tūranga 1850-53).
(te Tiriti) Henry Williams
arrived in Poverty Bay
on 8 April 1840 on the ship Ariel with a Māori-language copy of te Tiriti ('Tūranga Treaty copy'). Between 5 May and 9 June 1840, William Williams, presented the Tūranga Treaty copy to rangitira at Tūranga, Uawa, Wakawitirā, Rangitukia and Tokomaru so that those East Coast chiefs could sign te Tiriti; 41 signatures appear on the Tūranga Treaty copy, a number of important rangatira
refused to sign, including Te Kani a Takirau of Uawa and Iraia Houkamau of East Cape.
moved to Napier
in May 1867. Samuel Williams, his nephew and son-in-law established the Te Aute estate, upon which William worked to establish as a school for Māori boys and in July 1875 William established the Hukarere school for Māori girls in Napier
. William continued as bishop until he had a stroke in 1876 when he resigned. He died in Napier
on 9 February 1878.
His third child and eldest son, the Rt Revd Leonard Williams was born in 1829 at Paihia
After completing his university education at the University of Oxford
and taking holy orders his son worked with him for much of his life.
Diocese of Waiapu
The Diocese of Waiapu is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, including Tauranga, Taupo, Gisborne, Hastings and Napier. It is named for the...
and the father and grandfather of two others. He led the CMS missionaries in the translation of the Bible into Māori and he published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.
Early life
Williams was born in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
to Thomas and Mary Williams. After the death of Thomas in 1804 Mary Williams moved with her younger children to Southwell, Nottinghamshire where she open a school for young ladies. William Williams was educated at Southwell Grammar School. He completed an apprenticeship to a Southwell surgeon. William, like his brother Henry
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
, was influenced by the Rev. Edward Garrard Marsh
Edward Garrard Marsh
Edward Garrard Marsh was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.He was son of the composer John Marsh. He was a good friend of William Hayley, and associated with him and William Blake....
, the husband of his sister Lydia, who was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). William entering Magdalen Hall (later Hertford College), Oxford, in 1822, as a prospective CMS trainee. He came down from Oxford in 1824 with a BA in Classics. On 26 September 1824 William was ordained as a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, and priest, on 19 December 1824. In 1825 he entered the CMS Training College, Islington, London, with the intention of following his brother Henry
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
On 11 July 1825, he married Jane Nelson
Jane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
of Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, a teacher at his mother’s school. On 12 August they embarked on the Sir George Osborne to sail to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, then on to Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
, Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
, where they arrived on 25 March 1826.
Paihia Mission and the translation of the Bible into Māori
On his arrival in Paihia William became a teacher of the boys in the school for the children of the CMS families.William had a talent for the study of the Māori language and worked with his brother Henry
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
on translating the Bible into Māori. After 1826 William took over responsibility for leading the CMS missionaries in further translation of the Bible and other Christian literature. In July 1827 the first Māori Bible was printed comprising 3 chapters of Genesis, 20th chapter of Exodus, 1st chapter of the Gospel of St John, 30 verses of the 5th chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, the Lord’s Prayer and some hymns. In 1833 further parts of the Maori Bible were published.
Rev. Robert Maunsell also worked with William Williams on the translation of the Bible. William Williams concentrated on the New Testament; Maunsell worked on the Old Testament, portions of which were published in 1840 with the full translation completed in 1857. William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey
William Gilbert Puckey , born in Penryn, England, was a prominent missionary in New Zealand. He accompanied his parents to New Zealand at the age of 14 and quickly learned the Māori language, speaking it fluently by age 16, and becoming widely regarded as one of the best interpreters of Māori in...
also collaborated with William Williams on the translation of the New Testament, which was published in 1837 and its revision in 1844.
William Williams published the Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar in 1844.
Waimate Mission
In 1835 William, JaneJane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
and their family move to Waimate
Waimate North
Waimate North is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It is situated between Kerikeri and Lake Omapere, west of the Bay of Islands.Okuratope Pa was situated here and was the home to chief Te Hotete of the Ngai Tawake hapu in the late 18th-early 19th centuries...
. On 23rd & 24th December 1835 Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
visited while the Beagle spent 10 days in the Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
.
Journeys to the East Cape, Thames and Waikato
In December 1833 and January 1834 he and William Yate travelled on the schooner Fortitude to the East Cape and Mahia peninsula, to return number of slaves, taken by NgāpuhiNgapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
, most of them Ngāti Porou
Ngati Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand, with 71,910 registered members in 2006...
. Between July and November 1834 he and Alfred Nesbit Brown walked through the Thames and Waikato regions. In January 1838, he walked from East Cape to Tūranga, Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
with William Colenso, Richard Matthews and James Stack. William returned to the East Coast with Richard Taylor from March to May 1839. These journeys convinced William of the need to establish a CMS mission on the East Coast in Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
area. During this journey William found that Māori christian teachers had stated a school at Rangitukia and a chapel at
Whakawhitirā. He chose land for a house at the Ngāti Kaipoho pā of Umukapua, near Tūranga.
Tūranga, Poverty Bay Mission
William, JaneJane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
and their family arrived at Tūranga, Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
on 31 December 1839.
The first mission station was built on the banks of the Waipaoa River and was named Kaupapa (to plan; first stage or step) Rev. William Williams lived at Tūranga until 1850. The schools run by William and Jane were well attended, the classes school opened with five classes for men, two classes for women and classes for boys. Classes covered practical knowledge as well as the teaching of the scriptures. During this time the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. He was Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...
, appointed William as archdeacon of the East Cape on 27 November 1842, and on 3 April 1859 William became the first Bishop of Waiapu
Diocese of Waiapu
The Diocese of Waiapu is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, including Tauranga, Taupo, Gisborne, Hastings and Napier. It is named for the...
, basing his diocese in Waerenga-ā-Hika, Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
, where he established a school to train Māori missionaries.
William attempted to limit the acquisition of land by the New Zealand Association
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
. In a letter to Edward Garrard Marsh
Edward Garrard Marsh
Edward Garrard Marsh was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.He was son of the composer John Marsh. He was a good friend of William Hayley, and associated with him and William Blake....
of 8 January 1840 William explained his plans to follow his brother Henry's lead in acquiring land to hold in ‘trust’
Trust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
for the benefit of the Māori from whom the land had been purchased: "In proceeding to Turanga it is my intention to buy as much land as may suffice for the inhabitants, and I also hope to take the same step at Waiapu and Wairoa, & then I will set the association at defiance." However this attempt was thwarted by Governor Gipps
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...
' proclamation of 14 January 1840, which annulled the trust deed that conveyed title over the Tūranga land - at this time the commission of the Governor of the colony of New South Wales extended to any land that might be acquired in New Zealand.
In 1850 William and his family left for England, where he was involved the successful representations to have his brother Henry
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
restored to membership of the Church Missionary Society - Henry having been dismissed from the CMS as a consequence of his refusal to follow the orders of Bishop Selwyn to give up land that Henry had acquired at Pakaraka
Pakaraka
Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand and is one of the oldest settlements in the Bay of Islands. It is located at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10....
.
William Williams returned to Waerenga-ā-Hika and lived there from 1853 to 1865. William left Waerenga-ā-Hika in 1865, when it was threatened by a band of Hauhau
Hauhau
Hauhau is a Māori term that was applied to a branch of the religious movement Pai Marire, founded by Te Ua Haumēne of the Taranaki tribe in New Zealand in the 1860s. The movement inculcated that Māori would regain land that they had lost to Europeans during the colonisation process of New...
. William and Jane
Jane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
returned to Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
where he established a Māori missionary training school at Horotutu.
The other CMS missionaries on the East Coast at this time were James Stack (Rangitukia 1842-1847), George Kissling (Kawakawa/Te Araroa 1843-46), Charles Baker (Tolaga Bay 1843-61) and Thomas Grace (Tūranga 1850-53).
Treaty of Waitangi - te Tiriti
Following the signing of the Treaty of WaitangiTreaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
(te Tiriti) Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
arrived in Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawkes Bay. It stretches for 10 kilometres from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the northeast. The city of Gisborne is located on the northern shore of the bay...
on 8 April 1840 on the ship Ariel with a Māori-language copy of te Tiriti ('Tūranga Treaty copy'). Between 5 May and 9 June 1840, William Williams, presented the Tūranga Treaty copy to rangitira at Tūranga, Uawa, Wakawitirā, Rangitukia and Tokomaru so that those East Coast chiefs could sign te Tiriti; 41 signatures appear on the Tūranga Treaty copy, a number of important rangatira
Rangatira
Rangatira are the hereditary Māori leaders of hapū, and were described by ethnologists such as Elsdon Best as chieftains . Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that of other tribes...
refused to sign, including Te Kani a Takirau of Uawa and Iraia Houkamau of East Cape.
- Tūranga Treaty copy of the Treaty of WaitangiTreaty of WaitangiThe Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
on New Zealand History online.
Napier, Hawkes Bay Mission
William and JaneJane Williams (missionary)
Jane Williams née Jane Nelson , was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. Together with her sister-in-law Marianne Williams and others she set up the first schools for Māori children and adults...
moved to Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
in May 1867. Samuel Williams, his nephew and son-in-law established the Te Aute estate, upon which William worked to establish as a school for Māori boys and in July 1875 William established the Hukarere school for Māori girls in Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
. William continued as bishop until he had a stroke in 1876 when he resigned. He died in Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
on 9 February 1878.
His third child and eldest son, the Rt Revd Leonard Williams was born in 1829 at Paihia
Paihia
Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the historic towns of Russell, and Kerikeri, 60 kilometres north of Whangarei. The origin of the name Paihia is obscure. One, possibily apocryphal, attribution is to...
After completing his university education at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and taking holy orders his son worked with him for much of his life.
Publications
- Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar (1844)
- Plain Facts relative to the Late War in the Northern District of New Zealand (1847)
- Letters to the Rt Hon. the Earl of Chichester (1851)
- Christianity among the New Zealanders (1867)
Literature and sources
- Hugh Carleton, 'The Live of Henry Williams', Vol. I (1874). Republished by Early New Zealand BooksEarly New Zealand BooksEarly New Zealand Books is a project from the library of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, launched in 2005, that aims at providing keyword-searchable text of significant books published about New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Each page is linked to an image of that page in the...
(ENZB), University of Auckland - Hugh Carleton, 'The Live of Henry Williams', Vol. II (1874). Republished by Early New Zealand BooksEarly New Zealand BooksEarly New Zealand Books is a project from the library of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, launched in 2005, that aims at providing keyword-searchable text of significant books published about New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Each page is linked to an image of that page in the...
(ENZB), University of Auckland - Frances Porter. 'Williams, William - Biography' in Dictionary of New Zealand BiographyDictionary of New Zealand BiographyThe Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online....
(DNZB) - Evans, Rex D. (compiler) (1992) – Faith and farming Te huarahi ki te ora; The Legacy of Henry Williams and William Williams. Published by Evagean Publishing, 266 Shaw Road, Titirangi, Auckland NZ. ISBN 0-908951-16-7 (soft cover), ISBN 0-908951-17-5 (hard cover), ISBN 0-908951-18-3 (leather bound)
- Fitzgerald, Caroline (2004) - "Letters from the Bay of Islands". Sutton Publishing Limited, United Kingdom; ISBN 0-7509-3696-7 (Hardcover). Penguin Books, New Zealand, (Paperback) ISBN 0-14-301929-5
- Gillies, Iain and John (1998) – East Coast Pioneers. A Williams Family Portrait; A Legacy of Land, Love and Partnership. Published by The Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd, Gladstone Road, Gisborne NZ. ISBN 0-473-05118-4
- Williams, William (1867) - Christianity among the New Zealanders. London. Online available from ENZB.
- Williams, W. The Turanga journals, 1840--1850. Ed. F. Porter. Wellington, 1974
- Obituary. New Zealand Herald (11 February 1878)