The Harbour of Port Nicholson and the Town of Wellington

Plate IV from Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Illustrations to “Adventure in New Zealand” (London: Smith, Elder and Company, 1845). Lithography by Day and Haghe. Other lithographs from the series can be viewed here.

This three-part panorama stretches around the harbour from Thorndon to Petone and the Hutt Valley (on the left), then back to Te Aro (right). The lithographer has helpfully included the names of many important Māori and Pākehā landmarks, among them Kumutoto Pā and Flat, Colonel Wakefield’s house, Barrett’s Hotel and the Government flagstaff at the Thorndon end, the village of Te Wharepōuri at Petone (Pito-one), and at Te Aro the Exchange, Post Office, Customs Office and Willis Street.

Lithographs like this one were often copied many times over, and in the process they were often subtly enhanced. Contours of hills were
softened and straggling townships made orderly. Reprinted in British newspapers and periodicals of the day, such images formed a kind of visual propaganda for the newly settled country.