Brunner, Thomas

Brunner was born at Oxford, England. He came to New Zealand as an Assistant Surveyor to the New Zealand Company, arriving at Nelson in 1841. In 1843 he explored the headwaters of the Buller River and reached as far as the Matukituki, now Murchison). In 1846 in company with Charles Heaphy, he started from Nelson or the West Coast, via Golden Bay. They examined Farewell Spit, crossed through West Wanganui Inlet and followed the coast to Arahura. After examining the mouth of the Buller River they returned to Nelson by the same route.

In December 1846 he left again, accompanied by two Maoris and their wives, and travelling via the Waimea Valley and the Buller Valley, crossed over the mountains at the head of Lake Rotorua and rejoined the Buller near Murchison. He forced his way down the Buller to its mouth under incredible hardships and near starvation, even having to eat his dog in the last few stages. He followed the coast right down to the Paringa River, reaching this furthest point on 11th December, 1847. He returned by the coast to Greymouth and then followed the Grey River to the saddle leading to the head of the Maruia River. Having long since worn out his boots, he used flax sandals made by his guides, and climbed a mountain about 6,000 feet high, from which he saw open tussock country which he (mistakenly) assumed to be Canterbury Plains. What he saw was evidently the open country at the head of the Maruia. He descended the Inangahua valley to the junction with the Buller and then up the Buller valley to Tophouse, and thence to Nelson.

He had travelled 560 days on foot, more than half of it without boots, traversing some of the most inhospitable country in New Zealand, and living on the country - birds, fish and berries, sow thistle, fern root and cabbage tree root - often drenched to the skin, in a district noted for its heavy rainfall. At one stage on the homeward journey, he was stricken with partial paralysis and it says much for the fortitude of Brunner and the loyalty of one of the Maoris (who prevailed on the others, to assist Brunner back to civilisation) that the expedition did not end in tragedy.

In 1851 he was appointed Surveyor of Crown Lands, under the General Government, at Nelson. On 1st July, 1858, he became Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Works to the Nelson Provincial Council. On 1st October, 1869 he retired, but was retained as Consulting Surveyor by Special Act on account of his great personal knowledge of places and people, and of the history of the early surveys.

On his epic journey in 1846-48 he discovered the Brunner coalfield and Lake Brunner and the town of Brunner bear his name. He contributed an account of his early journeys to the Royal Geographical Society and was elected a Fellow of that Society.

Brunner died in Nelson on 22nd April, 1874 his health having been impaired by the experiences he had undergone.