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Title New Zealand Company, Miscellanea – Persons. Colonel Wakefield's Letter Book, 1839-1842
Author Wakefield, William Hayward
Date 17 Aug 1839 - 24 Mar 1842
Document Type Correspondence; Personal Account
Reference CO 208/307
Library / Archive The National Archives
Collection Name New Zealand Company Original Correspondence, etc.
Description Part letter book, part journal of Colonel Wakefield's journey to New Zealand and events following his arrival. This is predominantly made up of dairy entries recording Wakefield's journey, the locations passed on the voyage and expeditions to investigate the terrain and geology of New Zealand upon their arrival. The general life of sailors and fellow expedition members is referred to within entries and offers a detailed first hand account of navigation at this time and first observations of New Zealand. His first encounters and impressions of Māori inhabitants are also noted here, along with their cultural and military history, traditional customs and ceremonies.
Series Description This series contains original correspondence and entry books of the New Zealand Company which were handed over to the Colonial Office after the surrender of the company's charters in 1850. Also included are minutes, accounts, registers of emigrants and land transfer records.
Biographical Note / History The New Zealand Company was a chartered company formed in 1839 and incorporated in 1841 with power to buy, sell, settle and cultivate land in New Zealand. It did not prove a satisfactory agency for colonising New Zealand and was induced to surrender its charters in 1850. It was finally dissolved in 1858. Wakefield led the first colonising expedition to New Zealand and became one of the founders of Wellington.
Theme(s) Colonisation Companies and Emigration Societies; Ships and Shipping Lines; Politics, Legislation and Governance
Country (from) Great Britain
Country (to) New Zealand
Places Cape of Good Hope, South Africa; Canary Islands; Brazil; Tasmania, Australia; Cloudy Bay, Wairoa, Cooks Strait, Otago, Cloudy Bay, New Zealand
Ports Plymouth, England; Wellington, New Zealand
Nationality English; European; Māori
Ships Cove; Cuba
Keywords New Zealand Company, shipping, navigation, journey conditions, expedition, trade, weather, geology, surveying, religion, Christianity, provisions, exploration, colonisation, colony, settlement, labour, sailors, timber, ship building, indigenous people, whaling, cargo, nature, natural resources, water, transport, climate, languages, chief, housing, food, agriculture, education, church, death, history, cannibalism
Language English
Copyright Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK