William Yate

{{Short description|New Zealander missionary and writer (1802–1877)}}

{{See also|New Zealand Church Missionary Society}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox person

|name = William Yate

|image =

|caption =

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1802|11|03|df=yes}}

|birth_place = Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1877|07|26|1802|11|03|df=yes}}

|death_place = Dover, England

|other_names =

|spouse =

|relatives =

|known_for =

|occupation = Missionary

|nationality = British

}}

File:Page ii and iii of Ko te Katihama III, printed by William Yate,1830.jpg]

William Yate (3 November 1802 – 26 July 1877) was one of the earliest New Zealand missionaries and writers who worked for the Church Mission Society. He was born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England in 1802. He joined the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and entered the Church Missionary Society College, Islington, London, in 1825. He was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England on 18 December 1825, and priest on 21 May 1826. Yate learned the Māori language and had Christian texts printed in Sydney for his work.{{DNZB|Binney|Judith|1y1|William Yate|1 December 2011||Judith Binney}}

The Revd. Yate arrived in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand on 19 January 1828 on {{ship||Herald|1826 ship|2}}.{{cite web| work= Williams, H. The Early Journals of Henry Williams, p. 479-494|title= Appendix IV – The Herald (H. Williams, Journal, 19 January 1828) |date =1961 |url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document?wid=3826&page=1&action=null|access-date=14 February 2017}}{{cite book |last1= Yate|first1= William|title= An Account of New Zealand: And of the Formation and Progress of the Church Missionary Society's Mission in the Northern Island |url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=51&action=null |year=1835|publisher= R.B. Seeley and W. Burnside }}

The Revd. Yate took a small printing press with him to the Bay of Islands and used it to produce a version of the third catechism in Māori, Ko te katihama III. With only a fortnight's training as a printer in Sydney, New South-Wales, however, he found the task exasperatingly difficult and attempted nothing further on his press.Sharp, Iain (2007). Real gold : treasures of Auckland City Libraries. Auckland University Press.

In 1830 during Yate's stay in Sydney, he supervised the printing of an edition of 550 copies of translations of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis; the first eight chapters of the Gospel according to St. Matthew; the first four chapters of the Gospel according to St. John; the first six chapters of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians; parts of the Liturgy and Catechism.{{cite web|title=The Missionary Register|pages=67–68 |date= 1831| url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=3065&page=0&action=null| publisher =Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library | access-date=9 March 2019}}

In 1830 he was appointed to lead Te Waimate mission,{{cite web|title=The Missionary Register|pages=213–215 |date= 1836| url= http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=4035&page=0&action=null| publisher =Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library | access-date=9 March 2019}}{{cite book |last1= Bedggood |first1= W.E. |title=Brief History of St John Baptist Church Te Waimate|year=1971|publisher= News, Kaikohe }} however reports of his sexual encounters with young Māori men became a matter of controversy and he was dismissed from the CMS in June 1834.{{cite web|first=Binney|last=Judith|title = Yate, William – Biography|date =1 September 2010|url= http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/1y1/1|publisher= Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand|access-date=24 September 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/27636/reverend-william-yate|title=Story: Gay men's lives — Reverend William Yate|website=The Encyclopedia of New Zealand}}