1853 Wyld Map of New Zealand

This is an 1853 James Wyld map of New Zealand - the present example being a rare state of one of the most important 19th-century maps of New Zealand. It does not appear in OCLC and is not cataloged in Tooley's The Mapping of Australia and Antarctica.

A Closer Look

The map depicts the North and South Islands and labels cities, towns, villages, and other settlements. A handful of mountain peaks are named, as are the largest lakes. Short captions are sporadically included on the North Island, some of which highlight mud volcanoes and hot springs. Seven inset maps surround the central map and illustrate the entrance to Port Manoukao, Victoria, Port Nicholson, the Oyerri or Pelorus River, Dusky Bay, Southern Port or Stewart's Island, and include a plan of the Bar and part of the Hokianga River. Just to the right of the inset titled 'Plan of the Bar and Part of the Hokianga River' is a notice that reads 'New Zealand Land Company's Territory, coloured' with a box to indicate the color used to shade in the Land Company's holdings. However, that box is blank, as it is on almost every example of Wyld's map of New Zealand.

The New Zealand Land Company

The New Zealand Land Company began as the New Zealand Company, founded in 1825. The Company garnered little attention and no government support and failed. This failure came to the attention of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, an aspiring politician who was serving a three-year jail sentence for the abduction and forced marriage of 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner, an event known as the Shringley Abduction. Wakefield was released from prison in 1830 and immediately became active in the National Colonial Society, forming the New Zealand Association, hoping it would succeed where the New Zealand Company failed. He chaired its first meeting on May 22, 1837, but the association faced instant opposition from the government and the missionary societies. By September 1837, discussions had already occurred to merge the New Zealand Association with the New Zealand Company. The organizations failed twice to meet the requirements for a Royal Charter, but in 1839, the merged organizations formed the New Zealand Land Company. In 1840, the Company received a royal charter, and its success peaked in 1841. The Company founded Wellington, Dunedin, Wanganui, and Nelson. Financial problems began piling up in 1843, and the Company never recovered. It returned its royal charter in 1850, and all business was concluded by 1858.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved and published by James Wyld in 1853. We have found no cataloged examples of the present edition in OCLC or in other digitized collections. Published between 1834 and 1870, Wyld's map of New Zealand started as the McDonnell-Wyld map of New Zealand. The map's original compiler was Lieutenant Thomas McDonnell. McDonnell worked for the East India Company after retiring from the Navy in 1815 and eventually settled in New Zealand in 1831. McDonnell traveled to England in 1834 and convinced James Wyld to publish a map of New Zealand he had compiled. It is unclear if he did so in New Zealand or after arriving in England. At least 27 editions were subsequently published between 1834 and 1870, with some possibly appearing after that date. Wyld erased McDonnell's name beginning with the 1840 'third edition'. Wyld reengraved the printing plate regularly, making both small and large changes.