Bishop Pompallier founds the Catholic mission
- When
- 10 January 1838
- Where
- Tōtara Point, Hokianga · Hokianga
- Reach
- Local
Jean Baptiste Pompallier landed at Hokianga, breaking the Protestant monopoly on missionary work and adding a French presence that unsettled the British.
Pompallier’s arrival mattered politically as much as religiously. A French Catholic bishop operating freely in a country Britain had not annexed fed London’s anxiety about French intentions — an anxiety sharpened when a French settlement party sailed for Akaroa in 1840. Pompallier was present at Waitangi in February 1840 and secured Hobson’s assurance that all faiths, and Māori custom, would be protected.
Regions affected
Sources
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