Robert Maunsell

Born near Limerick, Ireland, on 24 October 1810, he studied at Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated with honors in Classics and won a prize in Hebrew. After training with the Church Missionary Society in London and being ordained, he sailed to New Zealand in 1835.

He worked first around Manukau Harbour and later at Waikato Heads, serving large Māori communities and helping establish some of the earliest Anglican mission activity in the region. He is remembered not only as a missionary but also as a careful student of te reo Māori; his published work included a Māori grammar, and he played an important part in translating biblical and church texts.

He also had a small but significant place in New Zealand history through his involvement in gathering signatures to the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Later in life he continued church and translation work in Auckland, and he died there on 19 April 1894.