Charles Heaphy

Abstract

Though to most people the name of Charles Heaphy is unknown, a few interested in special subjects recognize that he did make a real contribution to the progress and culture of this country.The students of military history recall that he was the first member of the colonial forces to win the Victoria Cross in New Zealand; the trampers and settlers in the Nelson district are familiar with Heaphy's Track, a route which he established during his crossing of the Rewaka Ranges in the early 1840's; those who have searched the files of the Lands and Survey Department for documents relating to early New Zealand know how often his name appears on survey maps made in the first thirty years of colonization; artists recognize the value of his contributions to painting. It is the task of this thesis to correlate all these activities as well as numerous others in which he took part, and in so doing to present a more intimate picture of his life and work in New Zealand.