Dunedin founded by Scottish settlers aboard the John Wickliffe

Background. Dunedin was founded in 1848 by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland, through a company called the Otago Association, at the head of Otago Harbour as the principal town. The name derives from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh. The site had been determined during an 1844 voyage of the Deborah, captained by Thomas Wing and carrying Frederick Tuckett, a representative of the New Zealand Company, who sailed south from Nelson to determine the location of a planned Free Church settlement.

Arrival of the John Wickliffe. The John Wickliffe was the first ship to arrive carrying Scottish settlers to Dunedin. Departing from Gravesend in November 1847 and Portsmouth in December 1847, the vessel arrived at Port Chalmers on 23 March 1848. This arrival marked the physical establishment of the settlement at the head of Otago Harbour.