MATTHEWS, RICHARD (1811-93) was born in England and was a brother of the Rev. Joseph Matthews (q.v.). In 1832, under the patronage of the Rev. Dr. Wilson, rector of Walthamstow, he joined the service of the Church Missionary Society and was sent with Captain FitzRoy in the Beagle to accompany back to their homes the Tierra del Fuegians who had visited England. Darwin considered him a man of quiet resolution, rather eccentric and not energetic. On landing in Tierra del Fuego (Jan 1833) he was so ill-treated by the natives that FitzRoy advised him to re-embark. He continued the voyage, assisting Darwin with his specimens. Landing at Bay of Islands in Dec 1835, he joined his brother at Kaitaia, where he taught in the mission school. He sawed timber and built a weatherboard house at Awanui north, and also made bricks. In 1837 he was accepted as a lay catechist. He served for a while under the Rev. John Mason on the opening of the mission in the Whanganui district (Jun 1840). Taking up his abode on the west bank of the river at Putikiwaranui, he had charge of the district as far as Waitotara. He mediated with eventual success in the quarrels of the Taupo and Taranaki tribes, which culminated in the battles at Patoka and Ihupuku (1841). Matthews left Whanganui soon after but was again there in 1847. He died on 27 Jan 1893.

Marsden, L. and J.; Ramsden; Joan Barlow; Chapple and Barton; N.Z. Herald, 24 Feb 1893

Reference: Volume 2, page 40

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