Samuel Marsden, a Church Missionary Society (CMS) member who assisted the Wesleyan mission purchase land from the local Māori.
[2] In 1826, Hongi Hika, a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe), moved to conquer Whangaroa.
[4] Between 1840 and 1845, the missionaries established further mission stations on the west coast of the North Island, including at Aotea, New Plymouth and Waimate (South Taranaki).
David Hill, was a prominent feature in the Mission at Hankow, and this society was also trying the experiment of giving to some of its missionaries a medical training, that they might combine preaching and healing gifts in their labors.
Attempts to purchase land for the erection of a suitable building were unsuccessful, but in 1887 a large house was rented in the main street of Wuchang, and the work begun.