THE majority of the Maori population lived in the North Island, and it was to the Maoris that the missionaries were first drawn. Much of the North Island could be said to have been explored by 1840, because accurate accounts were available from Maori tribes who inhabited the interior. The South Island, however, was the land of myth and mist, with relatively sparse native settlement.

Thus Samuel Marsden, the pioneer of the missionaries, established his first station at the Bay of Islands in 1814, and on his third visit to the North Island made a strenuous tour of the country, travelling six hundred miles in six weeks on foot and in canoes, and visiting Mercury Bay, the Thames Estuary, the Kaipara and Wairoa Rivers, and Whangarei. This journey was made possible by Maori assistance and hospitality. Colenso, well-known as the printer of the Maori Bible, made enterprising expeditions to Lake Waikare Moana and the Ruahine Ranges. Bishop Selwyn’s journeys were also remarkable. In 1844 he made his historic journey on foot from Wellington to Auckland. Later he travelled from Akaroa to Stewart Island by way of the coastline.