Summarising Te Kura Tuatahi

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New Zealand’s first school opened in 1816. The school was run by a man named Thomas Kendall, a missionary from England. At the time, there were very few Pākehā in Aotearoa most were looking for money. Kendall was different. He had come to New Zealand to teach Māori how to read and write so they could understand the Bible and become Christians, just like him. Kendall worked for the Church Missionary Society (CMS), the society’s purpose was to spread Christianity. Ruatara, a Ngāpuhi rangatira who was friends with Samuel Marsden, one of the society’s leading figures. A few days later, on Christmas Day, Marsden preached the first Christian sermon on New Zealand soil. The sermon was in English, and Ruatara would have been the only Māori there who understood Marsden’s message. Afterwards, Ruatara gave his own interpretation in Te Reo Māori.

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On fine days, Kendall found it difficult to keep his pupils inside. Describing his school in a letter, he wrote: “with a handful or two of potatoes daily, and occasionally a fish-hook, the children do at present very well”. The students were also rewarded with trinkets, such as beads and marbles. The school at Rangihoua became famous, and groups of travelling Māori – curious about Pākehā ways and what the missionaries had to offer – often called in. Ngāpuhi were only interested in trading food for muskets and gunpowder, and the CMS refused to allow Kendall to continue trading these items with Māori. Marsden and the CMS eventually lost interest in paying for the school’s expenses, and Kendall had to use his own money. When he could no longer afford to do this, the school closed in 1818.