caption death_date death_place birth_place birth_date image article_title name
missionary to the new hebrides 28 january 1907 cross st , canterbury , victoria , australia braehead , kirkmahoe , dumfriesshire , scotland 24 may 1824 john gibson paton.jpg john gibson paton
 john gibson paton
john gibson paton

john gibson paton -lrb- 24 may 1824 - 28 january 1907 -rrb- , born in scotland , was a protestant missionary to the new hebrides islands of the south pacific .
he brought to the natives of the new hebrides education and christianity .
he developed small industries for them , such as hat making .
he advocated strongly against a form of slavery , which was called `` blackbirding '' , that involved kidnapping the natives and forcing them to work in new zealand and elsewhere .
though his life and work in the new hebrides was difficult and often dangerous , paton preached , raised a family , and worked to raise support in scotland for missionary work .
he also campaigned hard to persuade britain to annex the new hebrides .
he was a man of robust character and personality .
paton was also an author and able to tell his story in print .
he is held up as an example and an inspiration for missionary work .
