Purchase of Westland

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 113, 6 February 1937, Page 19

Purchase of Westland

On May 21, 1860, seven and a half t million acres of land were bought - ■ from the Maoris for £3OO. The transi action was made on the site where s Greymouth stands to-day. The land s 1 purchased was what is now known as c Westland and the parties to the trans- 1 action were James Mackay, acting on 1 behalf of Queen Victoria as purchaser, J and fourteen Maoris. Witnesses to the 1 deed were Mr. S. M. Mackley, after- - ward pioneer pastoralist in the Grey Valley, Mr. James Burnett, one of von Haast’s surveyors, and some Maoris from the Collingwood district Governor Gore-Brown sent Mackay on ni» mission with 400 golden sovereigns to ( effect the purchase. After seven weeks ( of arduous travel overland from Nel- { son Mackay arrived at the Grey River, , where he met von Haast’s party and ( was able to obtain provisions from the ( schooner Gipsy. As a prelude to the ( signing of the deed, Mackay, accom- , panied by Mackley, Burnett and i number of Greymouth natives, visited ( a large number of the Maori settle- , ments in the district. James Mackay, ( who had keen appointed Assistant Na- , five Secretary during the previous , year, received no rew’ard for his vain- j able and arduous services beyond the , consciousness of having done his duty. . —B.H.W. (Wellington). I ,