page_title: Thomas Brunner
section_title: The Great Journey
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Brunner / Exploring the West Coast / The Great Journey
caption_attribution_description: English: West Coast, New Zealand somewhere north of Greymouth.
context_page_description: Thomas Brunner was an English-born surveyor and explorer remembered for his exploration of the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.
  Brunner was born in April 1821 in Oxford. When he was fifteen, he began to learn architecture and surveying. In 1841, he joined the New Zealand Company in its venture to establish a settlement in the north of the South Island of New Zealand, to be called Nelson. As well as working as an apprentice surveyor and laying sections and roads for the new settlement, he explored the interior, seeking pastoral land for a growing colony. In 1846 he undertook extensive journeys with Charles Heaphy and a Māori named Kehu towards and along the West Coast.
  In December 1846, Brunner commenced an expedition, accompanied by four Māori including Kehu, which began from Nelson. The party travelled down the Buller River and along the West Coast reaching as far south as Tititira Head, near Paringa before returning to Nelson via the Arahura River. This arduous journey, which at one stage saw one of his legs paralysed, took him 550 days. He received honours from the Royal Geographical Society and the Société de géographie.
context_section_description: On 3 December 1846, Brunner began what became his longest and most arduous expedition. He planned to follow the Buller River to the sea and then trek down the West Coast as far south as Milford Sound. During his previous expedition, he had been told of the existence of a route through the Southern Alps by the Māori at the Arahura River. He hoped to discover this route and use it to cross the Southern Alps and reach Canterbury. He was accompanied once again by Kehu, who brought along his wife. Another Māori, Pitewate, a friend of Kehu's, also joined the venture, accompanied by his wife. Brunner provided clothing and shoes for his companions. The wives proved problematic during the journey as they quarrelled, sometimes supported by their husbands, and Brunner would have to mediate.
  Stocked with provisions that included two guns, 16 pounds (7 kg) of tobacco, 112 pounds (51 kg) of flour, salt and pepper, biscuits and tea, the party travelled by mules and canoe for the first two weeks until they reached Buller River. They then followed the path of the river down to the coast. The journey was difficult; the party was constantly bothered by sandflies and rain and they had to ford the river several times. They settled into a routine of trekking for a week then camping for the same period to restock their provisions, living off freshwater fish and cabbage- and fern-tree roots. By May 1847, they were at the final reaches of the Buller but food was becoming so scarce to find, they had to kill Brunner's dog. He noted its flesh was "... something between mutton and pork. It is too richly flavoured to eat by itself." This incident led to him being nicknamed Kai Kuri (dog eater).
  Brunner was disappointed at the condition of the land along the banks of the Buller River as it neared the coast.  He had briefly scouted the area on his previous journey and believed it had potential for pastoral farming. He now found it too damp and mossy to be cultivated. The party reached the mouth of the Buller on 1 June and made their way to the pā that Brunner and Heaphy had stayed at on their last journey but on arrival, found that it had been abandoned. They continued on down to the Arahura River and reached the Taramakau Pā where they stayed for three months over the worst of the winter months. On 12 October, Brunner continued south with some local Māori. He went as far south as Tititira Head, near Paringa where in December he severely sprained his ankle. After recovering, he decided to make his way back to Taramakau Pā. From here he along with his companions, journeyed up the Arahura River and in late January 1848, discovered the coalfield and lake which now bears his name. He wanted to continue on this route to Canterbury but Kehu and Pitewate would have none of it. The party began to make their way back to Nelson.
  They travelled north via a tributary of the Arahura River which eventually met the Buller River, which they reached in March. In April, while making his way up the Buller Gorge, Brunner suffered paralysis of his leg. The party had to lay up for a week for Brunner to recover some use of his body. With the aid of Kehu (Pitewate and his wife abandoned the party when Brunner became ill), he was able to reach Nelson in June 1848, thus ending after 550 days  what he described as his 'Great Journey'.
  In Nelson, many people had thought Brunner dead and he readily recognised that he would not have survived his endeavours without the aid of Kehu, writing: "... I found my native Ekehu of much use - invaluable indeed, but the other three rather an encumbrance - I could have made better progress without them; but to Ekehu I owe my life - he is a faithful and attached servant." As well as further information about the West Coast, Brunner informed the colony that coal was to be found in the Grey River valley. However, he also considered, mistakenly, that "there is nothing on the West Coast worth incurring the expense of exploring."
  Reports of Brunner's endeavours on the West Coast soon spread to Wellington and England. He wrote an account of his journe
caption: A view of a section of the West Coast, and typical of the terrain (and weather) encountered by Brunner and his companions during their journey
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