RONALDSON, WILLIAM (1823-1917) was the son of a wine merchant, born in London and educated at the Hackney Grammar School. To satisfy his fascination for the sea, his father allowed him to make the voyage to Sydney in 1838 in the ship Roxburgh Castle. At Sydney he shipped aboard the whaler Elizabeth for a cruise of 18 months. In 1843 he returned to England and in the following year sailed for New Zealand to join his uncle, Dr Peter Wilson, of Wanganui, on whose farm he worked for a year. He was then persuaded to accept the post of schoolmaster of the Church of England school at the Maori pa at Putiki. For this he received only 10s a week, but he was paid the ordinary 4pence for teaching the settlers' children at two schools—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He was also postmaster at £40 a year. During this time he lived with the Rev Richard Taylor.

In 1849 Ronaldson returned to England to offer his services to the Church Missionary Society. Though accepted, he was unable owing to the illness of his father to enter the training college at Islington for another year. In 1852 he attended Tamihana te Rauparaha at his audience of Queen Victoria. He was ordained deacon, and in 1855 priest (while holding the curacy of South Collingham, Nottinghamshire). Early in 1855 he married Miss Ridge, of Newark, and a few months later they sailed for New Zealand, reaching Wellington in Nov. Bishop Selwyn (by whom he had been confirmed in 1845) was glad of the opportunity of employing a clergyman who spoke Maori, and he appointed Ronaldson to Greytown and later to Papawai, where a college was opened in 1857 on land given by the Maori people. After spending eleven years there, Ronaldson was transferred to Motueka, where he had charge of the native population at Collingwood and the Whakarewa College. In 1871 he was appointed to the church at Picton; in 1877 to St John's, Milton, and in 1880 to St Peter's, Caversham, where he concluded his active ministry in 1882. In that year he became a freemason and eight years later was appointed secretary to the grand lodge, which post he held until 1900. He was several times secretary of the Diocesan Synod.

Ronaldson died at Dunedin 20 Aug 1917.

Stack, More Maoriland Adventures; Otago Daily Times, 21 Aug 1917.

Reference: Volume 2, page 129

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