Reverend James Buller

, 1864

James Buller (1812–1884), Wesleyan missionary, emigrated to Australia in 1835 from Cornwall, hoping to join a mission in the South Seas. He left Sydney in early 1836 and was accepted soon after arriving at the Mangungu Wesleyan mission, Hokianga. He served briefly at Pakanae and then for 15 years at Tangiteroria, Kaipara before working as a minister in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Thames. Responsible for converting many Tongans to Wesleyan Methodism, Buller was president of the Australasian Wesleyan Conference in 1864. He had ten children and was knowledgeable about the Maori; his book Forty years in New Zealand incorporated ‘an account of Maoridom’.