 Brunner was born in April 1821 in Oxford . When he was fifteen , he began to learn architecture and surveying . In 1841 , he joined the New Zealand Company in its venture to establish a settlement in the north of the South Island of New Zealand , to be called Nelson . As well as working as an apprentice surveyor and laying sections and roads for the new settlement , he explored the interior , seeking pastoral land for a growing colony . In 1846 he undertook extensive journeys with Charles Heaphy and a Māori named Kehu towards and along the West Coast . 
