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’.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2010
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Drawn from the NPG’s burgeoning collection of cartes de visite, Carte-o-mania! celebrates the wit, style and substance of the pocket-sized portraits that were taken and collected like crazy in post-goldrush Australia.
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