Wade , William Richard

- bn England 1802 d. Melbourne 25 October 1891. C.M.S. Worker. With his wife Sarah probably the first Baptists in N.Z. Wade was sent out as Superintendent of the Mission Press. He was uncomfortable with the local Mission leaders, especially Henry Williams, and his letters contain ascerbic comments on the conduct of the Mission but also some detailed observations of Maori life. Prevented by his Baptist views from full missionary status within the Anglican C.M.S. he eventually moved to Baptist ministry in Australian colonies. Refs: Scholefield Vol. 2, 432; W. Wade, A Journey in the Northern Island of New Zealand (Hobart: 1842); Martin Sutherland, ‘A Baptist in the Nest: William Wade and the C.M.S. in New Zealand’ NZJBR, Vol. 5, 2000, 67-83.