| Brief Description |
This black and white photograph is of the Church of England missionary, the Reverend Richard Taylor as an old man. He has white hair and beard, and is seated in a studio with a table in front of him with a Bible placed in top. Taylor is wearing dark clothing and holding a walking stick.
Richard Taylor was born at Letwell in Yorkshire, England, in March 1805. He had a comfortable childhood but both of his parents had passed away by the time he was 13. He was educated in Doncaster. He then decided to enter the Church, and after training, was ordained as an Anglican priest on 8 November 1829. He married Mary Caroline Fox on 15 July 1829 and they went on to have three sons and three daughters.
The Reverend Taylor was appointed as a missionary by the Christian Missionary Society in 1835. He and his family sailed to the Antipodes, living in New South Wales, Australia, for three years, before arriving in New Zealand in 1839. The Reverend Taylor served throughout New Zealand and was present at the discussions on the Treaty of Waitangi on 5 February 1840.
Taylor replaced the previous missionary priest, the Reverend John Mason who had drowned in the Whanganui River. Taylor arrived at Pūtiki Wharanui on 1 May 1843. His pastorate was large and his role, although he was first and foremost an evangelist, was also as a "keeper of the peace"', and maintaining good relationships with both Māori and the European settlers. He helped to calm and resolve many disagreements.
The Reverend Taylor had a range of personal interests including botany, ethnography, zoology, geology and photography. As well as writing sermons, he was also a prolific writer of books and scientific articles, and illustrated them himself. The Reverend Taylor made two trips back to England in 1855-56 and 1867-71, and passed away in Whanganui on 10 October 1873.
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