William Wyatt Gill

William Wyatt Gill (27 December 1828 – 11 November 1896) was an English missionary, active in Australia and the South Pacific region after 1851.

Early life Gill was born in Bristol, England, son of John Gill of Barton Hill and his wife Jane, daughter of Richard Wyatt. Educated in Kingsland Congregational Chapel, Bristol, he became a member at the age of 14 and had an early interest in the ministry.

After three years study at Highbury College, London, and a year of study at New College, University of London (B.A., 1850), he was discouraged from missionary work, but his eagerness to accompany Rev. Aaron Buzacott to the Cook Islands met with approval and in June 1851 he was accepted by the London Missionary Society. On 11 July he was ordained at Spa Fields Chapel and on 15 November he arrived at Hobart Town in the mission ship John Williams where he began his missionary work in Australia. Life in the Southern Isles; or, Scenes and Incidents in the South Pacific and New Guinea (London, 1876) Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (London, 1876) Historical Sketches of Savage Life in Polynesia (Wellington, 1880) Work and Adventure in New Guinea 1877 to 1885 (London, 1885) Jottings from the Pacific (London, 1885) From Darkness to Light in Polynesia (London, 1894) The South Pacific and New Guinea Past and Present Rarotonga Records Cook Island Custom Selections from the Autobiography of the Rev. William Gill