Add MS 89721/4

The journal is decorated with several ink sketches, mostly transferred from the original diary, and 29 small sepia photographs depicting scenes from their travels. It also includes a typed contents page, some relevant press cuttings and a folding map of New Zealand produced by George Philip & Son and marked with Boord's route.

The map indicates they landed at Invercargill, travelled north to Lumsden, through Queenstown to camp in the Crown Ranges. They then passed Mount Cook on the way to Christchurch, then Kumara and Westport. Next by sea via Nelson they travelled to Wellington, then overland to Napier, before visiting Auckland. They then took the sea route South to New Plymouth before travelling over land to Whanganui. Finally they went back by sea to Wellington, then Christchurch via Dunedin, and back to Invercargill.

The endpaper is inscribed 'A diary of my uncle - Sir Arthur Boord Bt. - left me by my mother - Dr S C Copeman'.

The volume begins with an account of an earlier trip across lake Te Anau during which Boord first first encountered a covered carriage van fitted out for travel, which inspired the mode of travel on their main expedition. Boord goes on to consider the early European visitors to New Zealand and then relates the Maori myth of Maui raising the island from the sea.

The journey begins on 13 Dec 1891 in the town of Clinton with a description of their wagon car. Boord and his companion E had set out from Dunedin a couple of days earlier. They complete their preparations by hiring a Chinese servant from Invercargill, who they refer to as "George"or "the Heathen". He accompanies them for a couple of weeks before leaving them at Lumsden where he was replaced by a young Englishman resident in New Zealand, Benjamin Shaw.

Their trip involved a lot of difficulty with their wagon getting stuck in rivers and fords, and with their horses refusing to move or escaping during the night. In the course of they trip they took a steamer boat across lake Wakatipu, visited the Premier Gold Mine near Arrowtown, summited the Crown Terraces, camped on the shore of lake Pukaki, watched sheep shearing near Hermitage, saw the Tasman glacier, crossed by bridge over Lake Tekapu, used the railway between Winslow and Ashburton, and rowed on the Avon before deciding to abandon the van.

They continued their journey from 10 Feb setting out from Christchurch by train and hired carriage. This included a journey up the Otiro Gorge, a tour of the Kumara gold sluices, along the Buller River, across to the North Island from Nelson to Wellington, a visit to many of the hot springs and geysers, contact with local Maoris, especially at Tarawera, bathing in the lake at Taupo, a visit to the Thermal Valley near Huka Falls, a short stay in Roturua, a trip to Waiotapu Valley and the Rainbow Hill before visiting the site of the Tarawea eruption.

Here the diary stops, only briefly covering further travel in the North Island before the return to Christchurch on 29 Mar. The volume ends with a brief account of the funeral of Maori chief, Paora Tuhaere, near Auckland, including a sketch of his portrait.