Otago settlement founded
- When
- 23 March 1848
- Where
- Dunedin · Ōtepoti
- Reach
- Several regions
Free Church of Scotland settlers arrived at Port Chalmers to build a Presbyterian community, on land bought from Ngāi Tahu for a fraction of its value.
The Otago block purchase of 1844 took some 400,000 acres for £2,400, with reserves promised and mostly not delivered — one of the grievances at the heart of Ngāi Tahu’s 150-year claim. The settlement itself was small and struggling until gold was found in 1861, after which Dunedin became for a time the largest and richest city in the country.
Regions affected
Sources
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Related
Settlers outnumber Māori
For the first time the European population passed the Māori population — about 59,000 settlers to 56,000 Māori, on a Māori population that had roughly halved since 1800.
The first four ships reach Lyttelton
The Canterbury Association landed Anglican settlers at Lyttelton, who walked over the Port Hills to found Christchurch on the plains.
LytteltonNelson settlement established
The New Zealand Company’s second settlement was founded on a site with far less flat land than it had sold to its buyers.
NelsonNew Zealand Company settlers land at Port Nicholson
The Aurora arrived at Petone weeks before the Treaty was signed. Flooding soon pushed the settlement across the harbour to Thorndon.
Petone