WHITE, WILLIAM, was ordained in London with N. Turner (q.v.) on 23 Jan 1822, and sailed with him in the Deveron for Australia a few weeks later. In May 1823 he came from Sydney to New Zealand to join the Rev. Leigh in the new mission at Kaeo. Leigh was found to be in such a poor state of health that Marsden insisted he should return to Sydney, and White became chairman and superintendent in New Zealand. He showed great courage and resource on several occasions in disputes with the natives. In 1824 he quelled those who had seized the Endeavour, and in Mar 1825 he regained possession of the brig Mercury, which had been captured and pillaged. When the Kaeo station was sacked (1827) he was visiting England, and while there (1829) married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Leigh (Huntingdonshire). They returned to New Zealand together in The Sisters (arriving Jan 1830) and White took up his duty as superintendent of the mission at Mangungu, being senior missionary for five years.

Before long his commercial dealings in timber and his personal conduct caused uneasiness in Sydney. Whiteley, who joined him in 1833, complained of his chief, and the Rev Joseph Orton (visiting the district in the same year) reported adversely to the committee in London. A committee of Europeans and Maoris (presided over by McDonnell) found White guilty on charges of immorality with native women, and Busby reported the finding to the Governor of New South Wales (1836). No action was taken as the matter was being dealt with by the missionary committee in London. In 1834 he visited Waikato. In 1836 White was dismissed from the mission and forbidden to return to New Zealand. Turner was sent to succeed him. White's commercial undertakings had been profitable, and he claimed vast areas of land by right of purchase. His influence with the natives was still considerable, and the missionaries feared his hostility. In 1840, when the New Zealand Company's expedition was endeavouring to purchase land for settlements on the West Coast, White appeared in the cutter Acquilla and placed difficulties in their way. He claimed to have bought the whole coast from Mokau to Whanganui, and threatened to summon the Waikato and Ngati-Maniapoto tribes to oppose the Company.

Mrs White retired to Auckland for refuge during Heke's war and remained there. She was prominent in religious and charitable movements in the city, and was for some time president of the Auckland Young Women's Christian Association. She died on 27 Feb 1883.

Marsden, L. and J. and Lieutenants, Turner; Ramsden; Webster; E. J. Wakefield; Markham.

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

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