BUDDLE, THOMAS (1812-83) was born at Durham of a Church of England family. At the age of 17 he began to attend the Wesleyan Church at Barnard Castle, of which he became a member and local preacher. He studied theology with great diligence, and at the age of 23 was accepted by the conference as a probationer and appointed to the Daventry circuit, Northamptonshire. The remainder of his four years he spent at Huntingdon and St Neots and Peterborough.

In 1839, having passed his examinations, he was ordained at Liverpool and accepted an offer from the Wesleyan missionary committee to go to New Zealand. He married a daughter of William Dixon, of Barnard Castle, and sailed from Bristol (Sep 1839) with the Rev J. and Mrs Skevington, the Rev H. H. and Mrs Turton, Buttle, Aldred and Gideon Smales in the schooner Triton, 130 tons, the first mission ship sent out by the society. After calling at the Cape and Hobart they reached Hokianga (May 1840). Buddle and his wife landed at Kawhia and walked to their station at Whaingaroa. A few months later he was detailed at the request of Tamihana te Rauparaha to establish a mission at Porirua; but the schooner which was to take them south was wrecked on Kawhia bar. Buddle had to return to Whaingaroa. The general superintendent arriving shortly afterwards appointed him at the request of Te Rau Takerei to a new station at Kopua, on the Waipa. During four years there he baptised many important chiefs and opened schools under native teachers in villages as far afield as Mokau and Taupo. In 1844, in common with Morgan, Ashwell, Whiteley and Wallis, he accompanied his particular tribe to the great meeting at Remuera.

Much against his wish, Buddle was removed from Waipa to Auckland in the belief that he was the best qualified to take charge of the training institution for native teachers which had just been opened in Grafton road. Twenty students from all over the country were in training. Buddle also acted as financial secretary of the Wesleyan missions in the South Seas while the headquarters were in Auckland. He spent 22 years ministering to natives and Europeans in the vicinity of the city and was chairman of the Auckland district. With Whiteley he attended the first Australasian conference at Sydney, by which he was appointed to Manukau. Thereafter for ten years he filled circuits in the South, including Christchurch (1866), Wellington (1870) and Nelson (1873). Then, the conference having decided to establish Wesley College (a theological institution) at Three Kings to train young men of both races for the ministry, Buddle was appointed principal and lecturer in theology. This position he held until 1881. In the following year he resigned from full work, to continue as a supernumerary for a few years more. Buddle was in turn chairman of the Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington districts. He was president of the Australasian conference in 1861 and of the first New Zealand conference (1874). He was a fluent Maori linguist and a sound scholar and was chosen by the Bible society as one of the translators of the Bible into Maori. As an educationalist he was on the senate of the New Zealand University (1871-80) and the council of Auckland University College.

While stationed at Onehunga (1860) he was called upon to calm the excitement amongst the natives consequent upon the Taranaki war. With the Superintendent of the province (Williamson) and the Native Minister (McLean) he spent many weeks at Ngaruawahia. His accurate knowledge of the Maori mind and sympathetic understanding of their problems were of great value, but all efforts to detach the Waikato tribes from the King movement failed. Buddle saw the King proclaimed and wrote an illuminating booklet The Maori King Movement (1860). He died on 26 Jun 1883; and his widow on 1 Sep 1884.

Morley; Buller; Buddle, op. cit.; M. A. R. Pratt (information); Cycl. N.Z., ii (p); New Zealand Herald, 27, 30 Jun 1883; Public Opinion (Dunedin), 2 Apr 1881 (P).

Reference: Volume 1, page 74

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