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year 1848 did not open auspiciously for Brunner, who was still resting at the Mawhera Pa. He was thoroughly run down and his teeth at this time became a source of great trouble to him, his face becoming so badly swollen that he could not eat for some days. Recovering somewhat, he walked twenty miles south to Okitika for a kit of dried fish a Maori had given him. This was a very welcome addition to the scanty store of food he had managed to get together to be used on the return to Nelson, via the Mawhera (Grey) River.

The weather being favourable, Brunner on January 25th set out on this historic journey, a journey which was to prove momentous in the history of Westland, as it was marked by his discovery of the famous coal seam near the site of the town which to-day bears his name.