THE LATE REV. MR. BULLER.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 290, 20 November 1884, Page 2

THE LATE REV. MR. BULLER.

Our Christchurch telegrams announce the death of another of that band of missionary pioneers now so rapidly thinning, the Rev. James Buller, whose name must now be added to the memorial scroll of the Wesleyan Church which bears the names of many of his fellow-laborers — Buddle, Whiteley, Hobbs, Wallis, and others. The deceased gentleman arrived in Sydney in the year 1835, after a voyage of eighteen weeks from England. At Sydney Mr. and Mrs. Buller immediately embarked for New Zealand, the scene of their future labors, with the Rev. Nathaniel Turner and family, arriving off Hokianga on 21st April, 1836, and landing on the 28th. At Mangungu, the Wesleyan mission station established at Hokianga in 1828 by the Rets. Hobbs and Stack, tlie new arrivals were welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Woon, and at this lovely spot they found their home for three years. Mr. Buller then went to occupy the missionary field at Wairoa, at the head of Kaipara. In 1839 Mr. Buller, accompanied by the Rev. John Whiteley as far as Kawhia, the latter’s own station,* travelled overland from Kaipara to Wellington, skirting the plains of the Waikato, and through the fertile valleys between Pirongia and Kakepuku and thence to Pipiriki, on the Wanganui river. Up to this point the journey had occupied nearly two months, and a fortnight later the travel stained missionary arrived at Te Aro, then simply a Maori pah, now the busy scene

of streets, offices, and shops. Here Mr. Buller established a mission station, and then returned to his own station at Wairoa, via the Bay of Islands, after an absence of three months. Bor 15 years Mr. Buller continued to labor at Kuipers; he was removed in 1854 to Wellington, and remained five years in . this city, where he is remembered by many r of our readers for his good works and untiring zeal. Mr. Buller next went to Christchurch, and in 1862 he made a tour of the Otago golddelds, reaching as far inland as Gabriel’s Gully. In 1865 Mr. Buller established a church at Invercargill, and shortly afterwards another at Hokitika, where gold had just been discovered. In 1866 Mr. Buller returned to the North to take charge of the Auckland district, and here he remained four years, during which time he made a tour of the northern part of this island, and revisited the scenes of his earlier labors. In 1870, shortly after the gold rush, Mr. Buller took up his work at the Thames, where he remained for three years, during all the excitement of the gold fever. In 1873 he returned to Christchurch, and in 1875 was elected President of the Wesleyan Conference. In 1876, Mr. and Mrs Buller rested from their labors of nearly 40 years, and visited England. During his sojourn there he published a capital book, entitled “ Forty Years in New Zealand,” which was read with much interest throughout the colony. After a short stay in England Mr. Buller returned to New Zealand and took up his residence in Christchurch, where his former labors and his sympathy with the people had won for him the confidence and esteem of the community, and where he died yesterday in his 73rd year. The deceased gentleman has left a large family of sons, among whom is Dr. Buller, C. M. G.,of this city,—Wellington Post,