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Story: European exploration

British explorers

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British explorers

These portraits of British explorers and seamen appeared in the New Zealand School Journal in February 1920. The article described their role in the expansion of the British Empire. Those who had investigated New Zealand were seen as part of a long tradition of heroic British explorers.

Using this item

National Library of New Zealand, General Lending Collection

Reference: ‘England’s struggle for Empire’, New Zealand School Journal, Part 3 (February 1920): 23

Permission of the 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

Jock Phillips, European exploration – Discovery and exploration, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/11245/british-explorers (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 1 March 2009.