to do so. Here a few days were spent in prospecting with very encouraging results. Proceeding still further north they arrived off the Grey River, and standing boldly in, successfully crossed the bar and made fast to the trees of the forest. The Emerald Isle was thus the first vessel to enter the Grey, though many writers give this honour to the Gipsy in 1860, and in the case of Hokitika, to the S.S. Nelson in 1864, the Oakes Expedition being entirely overlooked. Safely inside, the brothers proceeded up the Grey River in the ship’s boat, and located the coal seam discovered by Brunner, believing they were the first to do so. They carried out prospecting operations in various parts of the district, obtaining some good gold, later returning to Port Cooper where they reported their discovery. In 1895 the leader of the party, Thomas Oakes, petitioned Parliament for some recognition for being the first to discover the metal royal in Westland, but without avail.
The Oakes brothers were a splendid type of adventurous men, who dared and overcame the perils of a wild uncharted coast. They were the first Europeans to report the existence of gold in Westland, for which they received no reward and have long since passed by, like ships in the night, without recognition.
The next to carry on the work of exploration was James Mackay, a Government Land
