Thomas Brunner
| Thomas Brunner | |
|---|---|
,_surveyor_and_explorer_(small).jpg) |
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| Born | April 1821 Oxford, England |
| Died | 22 April 1874 (aged 52) Nelson, New Zealand |
| Occupation |
Surveyor Explorer |
Thomas Brunner (April 1821 – 22 April 1874) was an English-born surveyor and explorer remembered for his exploration of the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.
Brunner was born in April 1821 in Oxford. When he was fifteen, he began to learn architecture and surveying. In 1841, he joined the New Zealand Company in its venture to establish a settlement in the north of the South Island of New Zealand, to be called Nelson. As well as working as an apprentice surveyor and laying sections and roads for the new settlement, he explored the interior, seeking pastoral land for a growing colony. In 1846 he undertook extensive journeys with Charles Heaphy and a Māori named Kehu towards and along the West Coast.
In December 1846, Brunner commenced an expedition, accompanied by four Māori including Kehu, which began from Nelson. The party travelled down the Buller River and along the West Coast reaching as far south as Tititira Head, near Paringa before returning to Nelson via the Arahura River. This arduous journey, which at one stage saw one of his legs paralysed, took him 550 days. He received honours from the Royal Geographical Society and the Société de géographie (French Geographic Society). He continued to work as a surveyor and in 1851 was appointed Government Surveyor. He surveyed the sites, which he and Heaphy had scouted on previous explorations, for what would become the towns of Westport and Greymouth. He retired in 1869 and died of a stroke on 22 April 1874.
Thomas Brunner was born in Oxford, England, in April 1821, and baptised four months later on 22 August. He was the oldest son of William Brunner, an Oxford attorney who was also the county coroner. He was of Swiss descent, his father's parents having emigrated to England at the time of the French Revolution. The Brunner family were active in the Oxford community, Thomas' parents raising him and his siblings to appreciate cultural and charitable activities. In 1836, at the age of fifteen, Brunner was apprenticed to an architect, Thomas Greenshields, to learn architecture and surveying. Over the next five years, he became proficient in both skills.
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