In 1874 the government started preparations for a special settlement in Jackson Bay, South Westland. Forest workers from Pomerania were recruited to cut down the forests, but the land proved too wet. By 1879 more than 100 Germans had settled there, but by the time the coastal steamer the Grafton was calling in at the bay around 1880, many families had begun leaving for Otago. A few pioneering families stayed on, and there are still people with German surnames in South Westland.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
West Coast Historical Museum
Reference:
2147
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