John White was a scholar, writer, linguist, public servant, magistrate Wanganui 1840'S.
1 Visited BOI 1832?
possibly residing Auckland 1842 from PPA NZ Herald 21 may 1892 J WHITE residing Auckland mid 1842
Maori Scholar PPA
Wrote a number of volumes of "The Ancient History of the Maori". PPA
PPA
OBITUARY. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8473, 26 January 1891, Page 9
SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. JOHN WHITE. We regret to have to record the awfully sudden death of one of our oldest colonists, in the person of Mr. John White, the wellknown Maori scholar, and author of " The Ancient History of the Maori," whose name will be associated with the early history of New Zealand as one of its very earliest pioneer settlers. Mr. White arrived on January 11 from Wellington, accompanied by his wife, being en route to Whakatane, on the East Coast, to attend the Native Lands Court in that district. He was staying temporarily at the residence of his son, Mr. J. F. White, View Road, Mount Eden. On Jan. 11 he complained of a pain in his chest and shortness of breath, but as he had been suffering from heart disease for years past he did not pay much attention to the matter, attributing the breast pang to indigestion. While going to the Grafton Road Wesleyan Church in the evening with one of his relatives he stopped half-a-dozen times on the road for breath, feeling fatigued. Notwithstanding, he was about town all day on January 12 seeing his friends, and walked about a good deal. In the evening quite a number of his old friends were at his son's residence to welcome him to Auckland again, and to renew a pleasurable acquaintance with him. The evening was devoted to talking over some Old Auckland reminiscences, the conversation being prolonged till near midnight. Mr. White was very cheerful and genial, and had apparently no premonitions that his end was so near. Shortly after midnight Mr. and Mrs. White retired to rest. He had just bade his wife " Good night" when he turned over, gave two heavy sighs, and died almost instantly. Alarmed by his heavy breathing, Mrs. White jumped out of bed, struck a light, and on endeavouring to raise his head on the pillow, found his eyes closed, and that he was dead. Mr. John Douglas, a neighbour, was roused up (Mr. White's son being away on his holidays at Whangarei), and he at once procured the attendance of Dr. Roberton, who pronounced life extinct. The doctor was to make a post-mortem examination on Jan. 13, and his certificate will obviate the necessity for an inquest. Mr. White was attended by Dr. Philson over a quarter of a century ago for enlargement of the heart, and the doctor then expressed the opinion that he would probably die suddenly. Deceased was 65 years of age, and was the third son of the late Mr. Francis White. He leaves a widow and three sons and four daughters to mourn his loss. Mr. White was to have attended the meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, of which he was a member, to read a paper on " Maori Folk Lore ;" but, owing to have to proceed to Whakatane, he was unable to attend, and the paper was forwarded to Professor Hutton, who was to read it. Mr. White left England with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis White, for New Zealand via Sydney in 1834, in the barque Fortune. On reaching Sydney it was found necessary to take passage in the schooner Friendship, via Norfolk Island, as she had to land stores there for the prisoners, it being then a penal settlement. At Norfolk Island the schooner got wrecked, and the family had to embark in the brig Governor Philip and return to Sydney to await another opportunity of getting to New Zealand. They landed at the Bay of Islands in 1835, and went on to Hokianga. From boyhood Mr. White cultivated the friendship of the old Maori tohungas, and mastered their priest lore, and their sacerdotal mysteries and ceremonies ; and perhaps no living European had so complete a knowledge of the history, traditions, customs, and language of the Maori people. On the outbreak of the Heke war his people had to come as refugees to Auckland, where they afterwards remained, his mother dying in 1868 and his father in 1877. About 1850, Mr. White was appointed as an interpreter in the Native Office, and generally acted as interpreter to Sir George Grey, and afterwards to Governor Gore Browne. Subsequently he was attached to the Native Land Purchase Department, and assisted in procuring the extinguishment of the native title for the Government to many of the lands in the vicinity of Auckland. On the outbreak of the Taranaki war, in 1860, Mr. White was attached to the staff of General Pratt, as Field Interpreter, and was present at the engagement of Puketakauere. At the close of the war Sir George Grey arrived from the Cape on his second Governorship, and determined to counteract the King movement by the establishment of what was termed the " New Institutions." Mr. White was appointed Resident Magistrate at Wanganui, a post which he held for some years during the troublous times on the West Coast, and exercised great influence over the natives of the Wanganui district. About 1867 Mr. White came back to Auckland, and was employed some time under the Provincial Government in matters concerning the natives. Afterwards he went to Napier, and was engaged on duties connected with a Maori paper published there. For the past five or six years he has lived in Wellington, having been entrusted by the Government with the important duty of writing a complete history of the Maori race, embodying all their ancient mythology and religion. About half-a-dozen volumes of his work, " The Ancient History of the Maori," have been issued from the Government printing press at Wellington. He estimated that the immense mass of information which he had collected would expand the work to twelve volumes, with an additional volume for the pharmacopoeia-of the Maoris. The Assembly, in the " roar for retrenchment," decided to stop the work in its present incomplete state, though the manuscript of two or three volumes was ready for the press, another batch ready for translation, and the material for the remainder of the work collated. The action of the Assembly worried Mr. White a good deal, as he had devoted his life to the preparation of the materials for the work, and had a laudable ambition to see the lore he had collected embalmed in a permanent standard history of the Maori people. He was also engaged on a Maori dictionary, which it was estimated would contain many thousand words. Professor Max Muller was much interested in his work and commended it highly. Mr. White, over a quarter of a century ago, delivered several lectures before the Young Men's Christian Association, on the "Superstitions of the Maoris," which were republished in pamphlet form. He was also the author of a work entitled, " Te Rou ; or, the Maori at Home," descriptive of the social life and customs of the Maoris prior to the advent of the Europeans. Mr. White was a man of kindly, genial disposition, and much esteemed and respected for his integrity, He was a lifelong member of the Wesleyan communion. His terribly sudden death will be deeply regretted, not only by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, but by the Auckland community at large, where he was so well and widely known. The funeral of the late Mr. John White took place on the 14th January, at the general cemetery, Symonds-street. The chief mourners were Mr. W. B. White (son), Mrs. E. Martin and Mrs. John Phillipps (sisters), Messrs. Martin and Phillipps (brothers-in-law), and Mr. C. Phillipps and the Messrs. White (3), nephews of the deceased. He immigrated to London via Sydney to Hokianga on the Surrey arriving nov 1835 on 22 November 1835.
1,3,5 He was an interpreter in 1852.
1