Anglican Commemoration
Missionary & Martyr in South America
September 6 · d. 1851
also known as Captain Alan Gardiner, Allen Gardiner
Alan Gardiner was a Royal Navy captain who, in midlife, left a promising military career to become a missionary to South America. After failed attempts to evangelize in the interior of South America, he established the Patagonian Missionary Society and resolved to bring the Gospel to the indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego—one of the harshest and most isolated regions on earth. In 1851, Gardiner and his companions were abandoned by their ship and slowly starved on Picton Island. Rather than abandon their mission, they faced death with faith and courage, their journals and legacy inspiring the next generation of missionaries and establishing the pattern of self-sacrificial witness that would characterize South American Anglican missions.
In Anglican missionary tradition, Gardiner is venerated as a model of self-sacrificial witness and courageous faith. His transition from a promising military career to humble missionary work exemplifies Christian renunciation and following Christ. His steadfast faith in the face of starvation and death, as documented in his journal, is understood as a testimony to the power of faith to sustain the believer even in extremity. The tradition emphasizes that his death was not pointless but bore fruit in the subsequent establishment of the South American Missionary Society and in the eventual conversion of Tierra del Fuego peoples to Christianity. His legacy inspired countless missionaries to embrace difficult and dangerous posts. The tradition also recognizes his strategic vision: he understood that indigenous evangelization required long-term presence, language learning, and sacrifice, not merely brief encounters or external imposition of Western religion.
Alan Gardiner was born on February 4, 1794, in Gloucestershire, England, the son of a gentleman of means. He entered the Royal Navy at a young age and achieved the rank of captain, distinguishing himself in naval service during the Napoleonic Wars and its aftermath. By all accounts, Gardiner was a competent and respected officer, with prospects for continued advancement and a secure position in the service.
However, during his naval career, Gardiner underwent a spiritual awakening. He came to believe that his life should be devoted to missionary work rather than military service. This conviction grew stronger over the years, and by the 1830s, he resolved to leave the Navy and dedicate himself to evangelizing among indigenous peoples. His first missionary attempts were in South America, where he sought to work among interior peoples of what is now Argentina and Paraguay.
In 1844, after years of preparatory work, Gardiner and others established the Patagonian Missionary Society, with the explicit goal of bringing the Gospel to the Yamana (Yámana) people of Tierra del Fuego—a region at the southern tip of South America characterized by frigid temperatures, dangerous weather, and isolated geography. The indigenous peoples of the region had had limited contact with European civilization and practiced hunting and gathering in one of the world's harshest environments.
In December 1850, Gardiner and his companions (six in number, along with three indigenous helpers) set out in a small vessel, the Allen Gardiner, to establish a missionary base on Picton Island, one of the islands of Tierra del Fuego. They planned to live among the Yamana people, learn their language, and gradually introduce Christianity. The mission was organized with military precision—Gardiner had drawn up careful plans for the construction of shelters, storage of food, and establishment of a teaching station.
The venture met catastrophic difficulties almost immediately. The supply ship that was supposed to return with provisions was delayed and then lost. By the middle of 1851, Gardiner and his companions were facing starvation. Food supplies dwindled to almost nothing. Some of the indigenous helpers left. The weather remained relentlessly cold and harsh. Gardiner's own journal, found with his body after death, documents the daily struggle for survival and his unwavering faith. He and his companions continued to pray together, to read Scripture, and to prepare for what they increasingly recognized would be their death.
During this period, Gardiner's journal entries reflect remarkable spiritual composure. Rather than rage against circumstances or regret his mission, Gardiner accepted death as a calling and trusted in God's providence. He wrote that if the sacrifice of his life and those of his companions would advance the cause of Christ in Tierra del Fuego, then the sacrifice would be worthwhile. He commissioned those who would come after him to continue the work.
Gardiner and his companions died in the winter of 1851. Gardiner himself died on September 6, 1851. His journal, found with his remains, was published and became known throughout the English-speaking world. The account of his faith and courage in the face of death moved many and inspired volunteers to continue the Patagonian mission. The South American Missionary Society was established as his legacy, and subsequent missionaries were indeed able to establish contact with the Yamana people and see conversions to Christianity, though often through great hardship and at considerable cost.
Gardiner was later recognized as a martyr—not killed by violence, but dying in faithful witness to Christ in a harsh land where he was sent. His death and legacy became an emblem of missionary sacrifice and inspired many to consider vocations of missionary service in remote and difficult regions.
Almighty God, you gave your servant Alan Gardiner boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.