W. L. (William Leonard) Williams

Born at Paihia, Bay of Islands, on 22 July 1829, William Leonard Williams was the son of missionary bishop William Williams. He was educated in New Zealand and at the University of Oxford, then returned to New Zealand and was ordained in the 1850s. Much of his life was spent on the East Coast, where he worked closely with Māori communities.

Williams became the third Bishop of Waiapu and was widely respected for his knowledge of the Māori language. Alongside his church work, he wrote and edited language books that helped record and teach te reo Māori, and he also published historical writing about the East Coast of New Zealand.

He died in Napier on 24 August 1916. Today he is remembered not only as a church leader, but also as an important early scholar of Māori language and history.