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Story: West Coast region

Coastline near Hokitika, 1846

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Coastline near Hokitika, 1846

Charles Heaphy sketched this view of the coastline north of Hokitika in 1846, later copied by an unknown artist. Heaphy and Thomas Brunner were two of the first Europeans to visit the area. It is not certain if the river in the foreground is the Taramakau or the Arahura. A group is fording the mouth of the river, presumably at low tide.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-048-025

by Charles Heaphy

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Simon Nathan, West Coast region – Māori exploration and settlement, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/21076/coastline-near-hokitika-1846 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Simon Nathan, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 September 2016.