Charles Heaphy

Narrative of a Residence in Various Parts of New Zealand (Dodo Press) Charles Heaphy

Major Charles Heaphy VC (1820-1881) was a New Zealander explorer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was just seventeen-years-old when he was appointed as resident artist and surveyor to the first New Zealand Company expedition to New Zealand. In 1848, he was appointed gold fields commissioner at Coromandel. In 1859, he joined the Armed Constabulary as a volunteer. In 1865, he was appointed Chief Surveyor for Auckland and in 1867 elected to the House of Representatives for Parnell. In 1878, he was appointed as a judge of the Native Land Court. Charles Heaphy was an accomplished artist and his watercolours are an important record of many scenes in the early days of European settlement in New Zealand. His works include Narrative of a Residence in Various Parts of New Zealand (1842).