Story: Taranaki region

Immigrants from Cornwall and Devon

Six ships brought Plymouth Company and New Zealand Company settlers to New Plymouth between 1840 and 1843. They carried 1,012 passengers: 896 in steerage, whose fares were paid by the company, and 19 intermediate and 97 cabin passengers who mostly paid their own way. Most, though not all, disembarked at New Plymouth. Of the steerage families, 68% came from the south-west English counties of Cornwall and Devon; the map shows their origins by village or town. The large number from near Launceston may reflect the fact that William Molesworth, a promoter of the two companies, came from a prominent local landowning family. Five of the 12 cabin families which settled in New Plymouth were from Devon. Single men and women are more difficult to trace, but most whose origins are known came from south-west England or London.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Raewyn Dalziel, 'Emigration and kinship: migrants to New Plymouth, 1840–1843.' New Zealand Journal of History 25, no. 2 (1991), pp. 116–118

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Ron Lambert, 'Taranaki region - Pākehā settlement', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/25299/immigrants-from-cornwall-and-devon (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Ron Lambert, updated 1 Aug 2015