Story: Shipping

First ships

First ships

Māori have their ancestral waka (canoes); Europeans have their founding ships. In settlements founded by New Zealand Company colonists, the names of early immigrant ship names adorn streets, buildings and public spaces. Many people still trace their roots to specific ships. A concrete replica of the first New Zealand Company migrant ship, the Aurora, thrusts out toward the traffic from Petone’s Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial Building.

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Private collection
Photograph by Gavin McLean

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How to cite this page:

Gavin McLean, 'Shipping - The era of sail', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5787/first-ships (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Gavin McLean, published 12 Jun 2006, updated 1 Jan 2016