Eliza
On 28 March 1836, whaling entrepreneur John Jones commissioned Captain John Howell to sail from Sydney to the south coast of New Zealand on the schooner Eliza to establish a whaling station at Jacob’s River. Now known as Riverton, Captain Howell’s venture proved hugely successful and many of his descendants still reside in the south of the island today.
In 1844, Eliza was used to relay Bishop Augustus Selwyn from Port Levy on Banks Peninsula to Wellington. Bishop Selwyn had been visiting various settlements in the south where he had conducted baptisms and marriages. For whalers who were some of the first European settlers in New Zealand, this was the first opportunity for them to have their marriages to local Maori women made official by the church, and for their children to be baptised.
In 1844, Eliza was used to relay Bishop Augustus Selwyn from Port Levy on Banks Peninsula to Wellington. Bishop Selwyn had been visiting various settlements in the south where he had conducted baptisms and marriages. For whalers who were some of the first European settlers in New Zealand, this was the first opportunity for them to have their marriages to local Maori women made official by the church, and for their children to be baptised.