In 1849 he attended the St John's College, Auckland and was appointed a deacon on 24 June 1849. On 18 December 1853 he was ordained as a priest. He returned to the Waikato and continued teaching in the schools for Māori people. In the early 1860s he acted as a government agent and reported on the Maori King Movement in the Waikato. His activities resulted in his expulsion from Otawhao in April 1863 following the Invasion of the Waikato by colonial government forces. He acted as a chaplain to the military forces in 1863–64. He resigned from the CMS in October 1864 and died on 8 June 1865.