Rowland Hassall

Rowland Hassall (31 March 1768 – 28 August 1820), born in England, was a missionary in Tahiti for a short period of time and in New South Wales for the rest of his life. Initially a field preacher, he became a minister. He raised sheep, was a businessman, and became a prosperous land-owner. His son Thomas Hassall established the first Sunday school in Australia, after which Rowland Hassall co-founded the New South Wales Sunday School Institution in 1815.

England Rowland Hill Hassall, the son of James Hassall, was born in Coventry, England on 31 March 1768. He was named after Rowland Hill, who was his parents' minister.

Hassall joined the London Missionary Society (LMS) as an artisan missionary, having been recommended by Burder, who was a director of LMS. The four Hassalls sailed the Duff to Tahiti in 1796 It was a base for missionaries who visited the colony on their way to the Pacific islands. Elizabeth died on 11 February 1834 at Parramatta.

Artifacts from Rowland and Elizabeth are among the collection of the Mitchell Library (part of the State Library of New South Wales), including a painting by Buonarotti of the Hassalls, other missionaries, and King Pōmare II and the Queen of Tahiti.