NameJohn HobbsBorn22 February 1800Died24 June 1883FamilyJanet HobbsHistoryJohn Hobbs was born in February 1800, at St Peter's, Thanet, Kent, England. Richard Hobbs, his father, was a coachbuilder and agricultural implement maker, and his mother was Elizabeth Palmer. Richard was a member of the Methodist Society, having been welcomed by John Wesley. Following in his father's footsteps, John learned the same trades, and in September 1816, he became a member of the Wesleyan Society.
When Hobbs was 22 years old, he left his homeland and immigrated to Tasmania to work with convicts. Hobbs, along with Samuel Marsden, Nathaniel Turner, Henry Williams, and their families, sailed from Sydney and arrived at the Bay of Islands in New Zealand on 3 August 1823. At the Wesleyan mission station new Whangaroa, Hobbs was responsible for constructing mission buildings and transporting goods by boat, and in 1825, he composed two hymns in Māori. Then in 1826, he attempted to translate the Lord's Prayer.
In January of 1827, Hobbs returned to Sydney after an attack on the mission station. Late that year, in August, he married Jane Broggref, and together they had nine children. After being ordained, Hobbs returned to New Zealand in October 1827 to lead the re-establishment of the Wesleyan mission. See alsoTe Ara
