James Herd

For the American former television and professional wrestling executive, see Jim Herd.
Not to be confused with James Hird.

James Herd (fl.1822–1830)[1] was a Scottish ship captain and seaman. He was notable for the early mapping of New Zealand.

Biography

Herd was first in New Zealand in 1822, whilst commanding the ship Providence. He traded spars with the local Māori people in Hokianga, with missionary Thomas Kendall acting as an interpreter.[2] One of these interactions was with the rangatira Muriwai, whose mana Herd was particularly impressed with. Herd's early charts display Motukaraka Island as "Moodewy's place" and Ōnoke as "Moodewy's Point."[3] He returned to London with a cargo of logs from Hokianga.[1]

In 1825, he was in command of the ship Rosanna, owned by the New Zealand Company. It was carrying 60 settlers.[4] The ship sailed from Leith[2] and arrived in Pegasus Harbour, Stewart Island, on 5 March 1826. Herd was tasked with land surveying, exploring trade prospects and identifying sites for potential settlement.[4] In that same year, he mapped the entrance of Otago Harbour.[5] He also sailed into Wellington Harbour, where he reportedly gave it its first European name, calling it Port Nicholson after John Nicholson, the harbourmaster of Sydney.[6] In late 1826, the group of settlers arrived in the Hauraki Gulf, where, on 23 September, they attempted to buy four islands in the "district of Tāmaki,"[4] including Waiheke and Pakihi. He supposedly left the region due to the unfriendliness of the local Māori people, setting sail towards Hokianga. He was present in the Bay of Islands on 26 October 1826 when he complained of hostility by the missionaries in the area, who, according to Herd, were afraid of colonisation damaging their influence with the Māori. Herd later purchased a block of land for settlement at Herd's Point, Hokianga.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Herd, James (Captain), active 1821-1830". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Scholefield, Guy (1940). "Dictionary of NZ Biography — James Herd". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  3. ^ Ross, Ruth Miriam (1966). "Muriwai". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 January 2026 – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  4. ^ a b c Bhatia, Ripu (19 August 2024). "Document showing earliest attempt by settlers to purchase land in Aotearoa acquired by Auckland Museum". Stuff. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  5. ^ Wilson, John (4 March 2009). "The entrance to Port Oxley (Otago Harbour), 1826". Te Ara. Alexander Turnbull Library. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Colonial times". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.