 He married Elizabeth Fairburn on 27 April 1843.William and Elizabeth Colenso worked at the Waitangi (Ahuriri, Napier) Mission from 1844.In the 1840s, from his mission station in Hawke's Bay, Colenso made several long exploratory journeys through the central North Island in the company of Maori guides with the aim of reaching the inland Maori settlements of Patea, in the Taihape region, and converting them to Christianity.