 In December 1846 , Brunner commenced an expedition , accompanied by four Māori including Kehu , which began from Nelson . The party travelled down the Buller River and along the West Coast reaching as far south as <unk> Head , near <unk> before returning to Nelson via the Arahura River . This arduous journey , which at one stage saw one of his legs paralysed , took him 550 days . He received honours from the Royal Geographical Society and the Société de géographie ( French Geographic Society ) . He continued to work as a surveyor and in 1851 was appointed Government Surveyor . He surveyed the sites , which he and Heaphy had scouted on previous explorations , for what would become the towns of Westport and Greymouth . He retired in 1869 and died of a stroke on 22 April 1874 . 
