First New Zealand Company Ships to Arrive in New Zealand

The New Zealand Company was an organisation in early 19th century England, that issued the hire of various ships to carry British migrants, from England to New Zealand, seeking the promise of abundant land and shores.

The company was formed from the catalyst of Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s principles of colonisation, which was based upon the requirements of balancing capitalism with labour, although many of the plans put in place had been created without agreement of the Maori already living in the chosen area, and was often also purchased ‘sight unseen’ which led to issues when the geography of the area was first sighted by the unsuspecting migrants.

To achieve Wakefield’s parity, land would be priced just beyond the grasp of labouring migrants' means, therefore providing a workforce for capitalists, eager to invest in New Zealand's fertile land and resources.

This methodology gained the interest of parliament and provided a lucrative opportunity for the wealthy (Simpson, 1997).

In 1839, the Oriental, the first among a fleet of five, 500-ton immigrant ships, was hired by the New Zealand Company to begin the arduous journey, across the Atlantic Ocean, carrying settlers from England to Wellington, New Zealand.

Other ships within this first fleet included, the Aurora, the Duke of Roxburgh, the Bengal Merchant, and the Adelaide.

The ship 'Oriental'. Ref: 1/2-038387-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, NZ.

The Oriental, classified as a barque ship and weighing 506 tons, set sail from London under the command of Captain Wm. Wilson, on 15 September. On board were 46 couples, and 33 children, making a total of 145 immigrants (Shadows of Time, n.d.).

See the Oriental Passenger List

The journey to reach New Zealand in the late 1830’s was not only the longest migrant journey in written history, but also very dangerous, with the threat of shipwreck and illnesses causing death (Wilson, 2024).

Not long after the Oriental had departed, the Aurora followed, leaving Gravesend, England on 18 September (Brett, 1984). The Aurora, also a barque ship, and weighing 550 tons, was commanded by Captain Theophilus Heale.

The ship carried 148 migrants and 21 cabin passengers; from this count, there were 25 married couples, 36 single people and 40 children on board (Shadows of Time, n.d.).

See the Aurora Passenger List here.

The ship “Aurora” at an unidentified location. Ref: 1/2-025379-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, NZ.

The Oriental and the Aurora met at D'Urville Island, (also as known Rangitoto ki te Tonga), before arriving at Port Nicholson, Wellington. Although the Oriental was the first to leave England, the Aurora was the first to dock at Wellington, arriving on 22 January 1840.

Nine days later, the Oriental arrived on 31 January 1840, the first organized settler ships to arrive in New Zealand (Brett, 1984).

Explore a wide range of resources relating to passenger lists and other immigration information in our Te Puna Maatauranga Collection, especially created for family history research, held at Central Library on Level 3.

Bibliography

Brett, H. (1984). White Wings: Immigrant Ships to New Zealand 1840 -1902. A.H. & A. W. Reed Ltd

Simpson, T. (1997). The Immigrants: The Great Migration from Britain to New Zealand, 1830-1890. Godwit Publishing Ltd

Shadows of Time, (n.d.). Passenger List: The Aurora. https://shaowsoftime.co.nz/aurora.html

Shadows of Time, (n.d.). Passenger List: The Oriental. https://shadowsoftime.co.nz/oriental.html

Wilson, J. 'The voyage out - Journeys to New Zealand', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,(accessed 18 September 2024), https://teara.govt.nz/en/the-voyage-out/page-1