The New Zealand Disease

Blog

May 15, 2025

The Wesleyan missionary the Rev John Bumby had a sadly short life in New Zealand, arriving in the Hokianga in 1839 with his beekeeping sister Mary, and drowning with most of the Māori crew close to Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf, on what seemed to be a fine winter’s day in the following year. He wasn’t alone in loosing his life in New Zealand’s often turbulent waters, a syndrome that came to be known as the New Zealand disease or illness. You can read about Bumby and others in the attached article.


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