The ''John Wickliffe'' was the first ship to arrive carrying Scottish settlers, including

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

settlement founder Captain William Cargill, in the city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The ship was named after the religious reformer,

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christianity, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxfor ...

. Departing with 97 passengers from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

, near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 22 November 1847, and from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 14 December 1847, she arrived at

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

on 23 March 1848. Her sister ship, the '' Philip Laing'', arrived three weeks later on 15 April. 23 March is now observed as Otago Anniversary Day, although the anniversary actually celebrates the establishment of the Otago provincial government on the same day in 1852, and the day of the observance varies from year to year: it is usually observed on the Monday closest to 23 March.

Commemoration

One of the more prominent buildings in the Exchange area of downtown Dunedin is named John Wickliffe House in honour of the ship. It stands on land close to where the ship berthed in Dunedin. Wickliffe Street in Port Chalmers is named after the ship, as is Wickliffe Press, a Dunedin-based publishing company.

References

External links

Transcript of the passenger list of the ''John Wickliffe''
1841 ships History of Dunedin Immigration to New Zealand Port Chalmers 1840s in Dunedin {{NewZealand-transport-stub