TEANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 269 



So far, as has been said, little knowledge had been gained 

 of the South Island, and of its capabilities as a field for settle- 

 ment almost nothing was known. With the constantly-in- 

 creasing tide of settlers, and the necessity of locating them, it 

 became almost imperative to search the terra incofjnita lying 

 unexplored, and full of possibilities. Wellington, Wanganui, 

 and Taranaki or New Plymouth were in process of settlement, 

 and now the Nelson Colony, as it was then called, was about 

 to leave the parent home. 



In July, 1841, Captain Daniell and Mr. Duppa together 

 made a short cruise in the schooner " Bailey" down the east 

 coast as far as Akaroa. The report was not entirely favour- 

 able, though the coast between the Kaikouras and Akaroa was 

 considered to be one continuous field for pasturage. Port 

 Cooper was highly spoken of, having 4 to 7 fathoms of water ; 

 there was also a splendid district of flat land between the 

 Peninsula and the snowy mountains — this of course was the 

 Canterbury Plains. 



The discovery was now made that the representation on 

 the maps of Banks Peninsula having a low sandy neck was 

 quite incorrect, this being, in fact, part of the mainland 

 covered with luxuriant vegetation. Mr. Duppa went about 

 eight miles up one of the rivers which drain the plain, and he 

 and his fellov;-traveller concluded that a more splendid field for 

 colonisation could not be found. It was this high character 

 which induced Mr. Deans shortly afterwards to pitch his tent 

 by the banks of this river. 



In September of 1842, Captain Smith, the Company's chief 

 surveyor, himself made a prolonged exploration of the east 

 coast of the South Island in a little cutter of 44 tons. His 

 voyage extended over two months, and lie sailed as far south 

 as Euapuke Island, making accurate surveys of the harbours 

 as he travelled down, obtaining latitudes and longitudes, 

 making sketches of all points likely to be useful to the stranger. 

 He sketched nearly all the coast between Otago and Foveaux 

 Strait, correcting for a hundred and twenty miles the great 

 inaccuracies laid down on the map. He estimated highly the 

 character of this long stretch of country. On his return from 

 the south he entered Akaroa Harbour, and here a terrible 

 calamity befel him. A sudden and furious squall struck the 

 little vessel, turning her on her broadside, and she soon filled 

 and sank. By little short of a miracle, all, with the exception 

 of a Native woman and two children who were drowned, 

 managed to get into the boat and were so saved. All Captain 

 Smith's papers, sketches, records, and instruments were 

 irrecoverably lost, and from memory alone was he able to 

 write his account of this voyage. 



With the foundation of the Nelson settlement the realwork 



