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[Named by the Maoris Rangi-ura, or Raki-ura; signifying the "glows of heaven." The applicability is apparent. Exposed to a boundless fetch in the Western Main, the island heights catch the last rays of the setting sun, radiating in their fiercest glows, as the monarch of day dips beneath the western horizon. The glistenings of the watery mantle in front, under certain atmospheric conditions, heighten the effect into a sea of molten gold. In navigating its waters, Captain Cook, after some hesitation, pronounced it an integral part of the island-continent of New Zealand, and it is marked as such on his early charts. In 1809 the through passage of Foveaux Straits 1s claimed to have been discovered by one Dugald Stewart, or Stuart, and it was named Stewart Island in commemoration thereof. It will be shown hereafter grave doubts exist as to the validity of that claim, and that Stewart, or Stuart's, bona fides are open to challenge. An Hibernian Governor of New South Wales made the bold attempt to reproduce the Emerald Isle in these South Seas, naming the three principal islands New Ulster, New Munister, and New Leinster. Stewart Island came in for the last-named transformation. However, the idea never "caught on," and, with exception of one or two official documents so worded, all reminiscence of the proposal has long since disappeared.]