Donald Sutherland (explorer)

Last updated

Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland, explorer.jpg
Donald Sutherland in 1888
Bornc.1843/1844
Wick, Caithness, Scotland
Died24 October 1919 (aged 75/76)
Milford Sound, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Explorer
Soldier

Donald Sutherland (c.1843/1844 – 24 October 1919) was a Scottish-born New Zealand explorer, active in the late 19th century. Born in Wick, he served as a soldier in the Expedition of the Thousand, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, in the Italian unification wars. Soon afterwards he travelled to New Zealand where he prospected for gold in Otago. He later joined the New Zealand military and fought in a number of engagements of the New Zealand Wars. In 1877, he settled in Milford Sound and lived as a hermit for a number of years, exploring the region. He later married and, with his wife, ran an accommodation facility for the increasing number of tourists visiting Milford Sound until his death in October 1919. The Sutherland Falls, located near Milford Sound and the highest waterfall in New Zealand, is named for him.

Contents

Early life

Donald Sutherland was born in Wick, a coastal town in Scotland, around 1843 or 1844. He was the son of Donald Sutherland, a ropemaker, and Isabella Strachan. As a boy he worked in the fishing industry but desired a more exciting life, and when he was 16, he joined a militia unit stationed at Fort George in nearby Ardersier. He subsequently volunteered to join the forces of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who, supported by the British, was engaged in the Expedition of the Thousand, part of the Italian unification wars. The campaign ended in Naples in September 1860, after which Sutherland returned to the United Kingdom. [1]

New Zealand

After finding employment as a mariner on coastal shipping, Sutherland sailed to New Zealand as part of the crew of the Prince Alfred, deserting the company when the ship arrived at Dunedin. [1] At the time, Otago was experiencing a gold rush after the valuable metal was discovered at Gabriel's Gully. [2] Sutherland made his way to the area and began prospecting for gold. In December 1863, and having not had any success on the gold fields, he went to the North Island and enlisted in the Waikato Militia, then engaged in the New Zealand Wars. He was assigned to the water transport corps, and after hostilities ended in the region, Sutherland was granted a parcel of land at Pukerimu. He abandoned his land allotment in 1866 when he absconded from his unit to join a sealing party heading to Fiordland, in the South Island. Not achieving any success, he returned to gold prospecting, this time on the West Coast. [1]

Armed Constabulary service

In 1868, having failed again as a gold prospector, Sutherland joined the Armed Constabulary, the colonial regular army. He was involved in the fighting in the South Taranaki during the campaign against the Māori war chief Riwha Tītokowaru. He was also present at the siege of Ngatapa from December 1868 to January 1869, during the East Cape wars. He acted as a scout after fighting at Tauranga-ika and was involved in the pursuit of Tītokowaru's men following their abandonment of the (hillfort) there. In the mistaken belief that a bounty was offered for the head of any captives, he decapitated those he caught. He ended the conflict as a corporal and was later a recipient of the New Zealand War Medal. [1] [3]

Milford Sound

Sutherland Falls, sighted by Donald Sutherland in 1880 Emerald Hours in New Zealand (1906) * Lowth * 219.jpg
Sutherland Falls, sighted by Donald Sutherland in 1880

Sutherland returned to the sea as a mariner for the New Zealand Government Service Steamer (NZGSS) shipping line. After several years of this work, in 1877 he decided to settle in Fiordland. He had visited the area a number of times while working NZGSS vessels. Sailing from Dunedin with only a dog for company, he reached the Milford Sound on 3 December. Basing himself at Freshwater Basin, a site close to Bowen Falls, he constructed a three-room hut. Further dwellings were built later and he drew up plans for a settlement for what he called the city of Milford. He looked for gold, asbestos and bowenite. [1] [4] [5]

In 1878, Sutherland invited James McKay to join him in his hunt for gold. Finding none, the two used funds and provisions afforded by the Lake County to scout for a route between Milford Sound and Queenstown. He was unsuccessful in finding a pass through the mountains but did locate the track used by Māori to travel between Milford and Bligh Sounds. [6] [7] In doing so, he was the first European to sight the waterfall that is now named for him. Originally it was claimed to be well over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in height and the highest in the world, but Sutherland Falls is actually only 580 metres (1,900 ft) high. It is still New Zealand's highest waterfall. [8] [9]

By the early 1880s, McKay had left Milford, believing there was no gold to be had in the area. This left Sutherland as the only permanent resident in Milford Sound. In 1883, while sailing down the coast in his vessel Porpoise, he discovered another feature that is named for him, Sutherland Sound. [1] [7] [10] The same year, he attempted to climb Mitre Peak. [11] His failure to reach the summit was galling and he later attempted to discredit the first ascent made in 1911 by Jim Dennistoun. [12] His observations from his exploration of Milford Sound and the surrounding area were communicated to Alexander McKay, a geologist, who in August 1884 reported these to the Wellington Philosophical Society. [13]

For much of the next several years, Sutherland lived alone in Milford Sound, only receiving visits every six months or so when the NZGSS steamers Hinemoa or Stella called in. [1] In 1888, he was contracted to make a track from Milford through to Sutherland Falls. This took six months, and now forms part of the Milford Track. [14] He made occasional visits to Dunedin, and on one of these, in 1890, he married Elizabeth née  Samuels, a widower originally from England. The couple, using Elizabeth's money, purchased land on which the Chalet, an accommodation facility, was built. This catered to the increasing number of tourists visiting the area in the summer months via the Milford Track or by ship. Among them was the historian James Cowan, with whom Sutherland scouted in the area for diamonds. [1]

Later life

In his later years, Sutherland was joined at Milford Sound by his nephew, William Sutherland, who with his wife helped in the running of the Chalet. [1] By the 1900s, the tourism trade in the area was becoming well developed, encouraged by the government's Tourism Board. [15] In response, Sutherland began raising livestock at Milford for fresh meat. He died at his home on 24 October 1919; he had been in poor health for some time. When he died, his wife was the only individual present at Milford Sound. Unable to bury her large-framed husband, she had to wait five weeks for the next visit of the Hinemoa before his body could be interred. His wife remained at Milford, running the Chalet until she sold it to the New Zealand government in 1922. She stayed on in Milford Sound and died on 10 December 1923. She is buried alongside her husband in a grave behind the Chalet. [1] [16]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Parham, W. T. "Sutherland, Donald". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. Walrond, Carl. "Gold and gold mining – Otago". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. Belich 1998, p. 268.
  4. Cowan 1935, pp. 271–273.
  5. Hall-Jones 1976, p. 61.
  6. Hall-Jones 1976, pp. 62–63.
  7. 1 2 McClymont 1940, pp. 182–183.
  8. Cowan 1935, pp. 274–275.
  9. "Sutherland Falls 'discovered'". New Zealand History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  10. Hall-Jones 1976, p. 64.
  11. "The 'Magnificent' Mitre Peak". Stuff. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  12. Pascoe 1983, p. 146.
  13. McKay 1884, pp. 454–455.
  14. Hall-Jones 1976, p. 65.
  15. Wright 2009, p. 262.
  16. Hall-Jones 1976, p. 76.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tītokowaru</span> 19th-century Māori leader; opponent of British colonisation of New Zealand

Riwha Tītokowaru was a Māori leader in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. He was active in resisting colonisation in the region and after a march for peace in the region in 1867 he was a leader in a war (1868–1869) named after him in an effort to stop the occupation of Māori land by colonial settlers. After this period he again became an advocate for peace and made diplomatic efforts between Māori, colonial settlers and the government. He was arrested and jailed after a peaceful occupation of land near Manaia in 1886 and he died two years later in 1888.

Kimball Bent, also known as Kimble Bent, was a soldier and adventurer, who deserted from the British Army during the New Zealand Wars and lived for several years among the Māori people of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Wars</span> 1845–1872 armed conflicts

The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initially localised conflicts triggered by tensions over disputed land purchases, they escalated dramatically from 1860 as the government became convinced it was facing united Māori resistance to further land sales and a refusal to acknowledge Crown sovereignty. The colonial government summoned thousands of British troops to mount major campaigns to overpower the Kīngitanga movement and also conquest of farming and residential land for British settlers. Later campaigns were aimed at quashing the so-called Hauhau movement, an extremist part of the Pai Mārire religion, which was strongly opposed to the conquest of Māori land and eager to strengthen Māori identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tītokowaru's War</span> 1868–69 conflict between the New Zealand colonial gov. and native Māori tribes in Taranaki

Tītokowaru's War was a military conflict that took place in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from June 1868 to March 1869 between the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine Māori tribes and the New Zealand Government. The conflict, near the conclusion of the New Zealand wars, was a revival of hostilities of the Second Taranaki War as Riwha Tītokowaru, chief of Ngaruahine, responded to the continued surveying and settlement of confiscated land with well-planned and effective attacks on settlers and government troops in an effort to block the occupation of Māori land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford Sound</span> Fiord in the southwest of New Zealands South Island

Milford Sound is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth Wonder of the World. The fiord is most commonly accessed via road by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called Milford Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiordland</span> Geographical region of New Zealand

Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" comes from a variant spelling of the Scandinavian word for this type of steep valley, "fjord". The area of Fiordland is dominated by, and very roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiordland National Park</span> National park on South Island of New Zealand

Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering 12,607 km2 (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wāhipounamu a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 1990. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park, combined with the deep glacier-carved valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Mackenzie</span> Prime minister of New Zealand in 1912

Sir Thomas Mackenzie was a Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and later served as New Zealand High Commissioner in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford Track</span> New Zealand tramping track

The Milford Track is a hiking route in New Zealand, located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. The 53.5 km (33.2 mi) hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound at Sandfly Point, traversing rainforests, wetlands, and an alpine pass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Belich (historian)</span> New Zealand historian (born 1956)

James Christopher Belich is a New Zealand historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars and on New Zealand history more generally. One of his major works on the 19th-century clash between Māori and Pākehā, the revisionist study The New Zealand Wars (1986), was also published in an American edition and adapted into a television series and DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitre Peak (New Zealand)</span> Mountain in the South Island of New Zealand

Mitre Peak is a mountain in the South Island of New Zealand, located on the shore of Milford Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Company</span>

Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited was once the biggest shipping line in the southern hemisphere and New Zealand's largest private-sector employer. It was incorporated by James Mills in Dunedin in 1875 with the backing of a Scottish shipbuilder, Peter Denny. Bought by shipping giant P&O around the time of World War I it was sold in 1972 to an Australasian consortium and closed at the end of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Fergus</span> New Zealand politician

Thomas Fergus was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.

Raymond Robert Forster was a New Zealand arachnologist and museum director. He was a Fellow of the Entomological Society of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McKinnon Pass</span> Mountain pass in New Zealand

Omanui / McKinnon Pass is an alpine pass between Mount Hart and Mount Balloon in Fiordland, New Zealand. The pass is at an elevation of 1,154 metres (3,786 ft) and is located 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. The pass is the highest point of the famous Milford Track connecting Lake Te Anau and the Clinton River valley with the Arthur River valley and Milford Sound / Piopiotahi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition</span> New Zealand scientific expedition

The Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition of 1907 was organised by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands, but botanical, biological and zoological surveys were also conducted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quintin McKinnon</span>

Quintin McPherson McKinnon, (1851–1892) was a Scottish New Zealand explorer and tour guide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milford Sound (village)</span> Place in South Island, New Zealand

Milford Sound is a small village located deep within Fiordland National Park in the Southland Region of New Zealand. It is located at the head of the fiord also called Milford Sound. The village and fiord are one of the most visited places in New Zealand, receiving about one million day visitors per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Quill</span> Lake in New Zealand

Lake Quill is a tarn located in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park at 979 m above sea level. The cirque lake of approximately 1.2 km2 is the source of Sutherland Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in the country and seventh-highest in the world, cascading from Lake Quill in three tiers into the Arthur Valley alongside the Milford Track, approximately 20 km from Milford Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand American Fiordland Expedition</span>

The New Zealand American Fiordland Expedition was a research expedition organised by the Department of Internal Affairs in 1949 to undertake research into elk (wapiti) as well as other biodiversity, surveying and geology in the Fiordland National Park.

References