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Story: Wellington places

Te Rotokura lagoon

Image
Te Rotokura lagoon

In the 1840s William Wakefield renamed Te Rotokura lagoon (also known as Para) Burnham Water. In the mid-1840s James Crawford settled on the Miramar Peninsula and painted this scene of his home, Glendavar, with the lagoon in the background. Crawford later drained Burnham Water to create more farmland.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-229-009

by James Coutts Crawford

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, 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

Chris Maclean, Wellington places – Eastern suburbs, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/13421/te-rotokura-lagoon (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Chris Maclean, published 3 March 2009, updated 1 March 2016.