Thomas Grace (missionary)

This article is about the missionary to New Zealand. For his son (also a missionary), see Thomas Grace (Archdeacon of Marlborough).

See also: New Zealand Church Missionary Society

Thomas Samuel Grace (16 February 1815 – 30 April 1879) was an English Anglican missionary in New Zealand. He was a member of the Church Missionary Society. He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England on 16 February 1815.^[1][2] Prior to being engaged by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1844, Grace had success in business and was later ordained at St Bee's College.^[3]: 259 He and his wife Grace sailed to New Zealand in 1850, initially to establish a new station at Taupo, but instead to replace William Williams at Tūranga in Poverty Bay from 1850 until 1853, during the latter's trip to Britain.^[4] Te Kooti attended the boarding school at Tūranga during the time Grace was in charge of the mission.

Thomas Samuel Grace
Thomas Samuel Grace
Born	(1815-02-16)16 February 1815 Liverpool, England
Died	(1879-04-30)30 April 1879
Nationality	British
Occupation	Missionary
Spouse	Agnes Grace
Relatives	Lawrence Marshall Grace M.P. (son)

Agnes Grace, his wife

He was appointed to Taupō.^[5][6] In 1865 the Pai Mārire ransacked his house.^[7] Grace fled from Taupō to Ōpōtiki and was caught up in the Völkner Incident. He was arrested and put on trial by the Pai Mārire party. He was rescued from captivity two weeks later by a British man-of-war, HMS Eclipse, after an attempt by the Pai Mārire to exchange him for Tauranga chief Hori Tupaea, who was in prison.^[7][8] In the 1870s he rebuilt the mission station at Taupō.^[9]

His son Lawrence Marshall Grace was Member of Parliament for Tauranga in the 1880s.

Sources

• D. Grace, A Driven Man – Missionary Thomas Samuel Grace 1815-1879: His Life and Letters, Wellington : Ngaio Press, 2004

References

1. Murray, Janet E. "Grace, Thomas Samuel". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
2. "Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific" (PDF). 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
3. Newman, Keith (2010). Bible & treaty : missionaries among the Māori : a new perspective. North Shore [City] N.Z. : Penguin. ISBN 9780143204084. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via National Library of New Zealand.
4. Derby, Mark (July 2007). "Wai 900 – East Coast inquiry, 'Undisturbed Possession' – Te Tiriti o Waitangi and East Coast Māori 1840 – 1865 (Scoping Report)" (PDF). Ruawaipu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
5. "The Church Missionary Gleaner, January 1851". The Aged Chief of Taupo. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
6. "The Church Missionary Gleaner, May 1874". The Church Missionary House at Pukawa. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
7. "The Church Missionary Gleaner, September 1865". Death of the Rev. C. S Volkner. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
8. S. Barton Babbage, "Hauhauism: An Episode in the Maori Wars 1863-1866", chapter 1. A.H & A.W. Reed, Dunedin, 1937
9. "The Church Missionary Gleaner, February 1877". The Rev. T. S. Grace of New Zealand. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 24 October 2015.