Paringa River

A roadside marker records the amazing 1846-48 expedition of explorer Thomas Brunner.

With Maori guides he set off down the West Coast for what was to be the longest journey of exploration in New Zealand by a European. He finally called it quits at the Paringa River where he suffered an ankle injury, and headed back to Nelson, where he’d been given up for dead.

Brunner's Diary - click here

"Brunner died at Nelson on 22 April 1874. His funeral at Nelson Cathedral was attended by several hundred people, including a large Maori contingent. Kehu was chief mourner. Brunner's memorials are the rocks of the Buller Gorge and the surf-riven coast of South Westland. They continue to bear witness to the greatest single piece of overland exploration in New Zealand's European history."

Te Ara - Encyclopaedia of New Zealand