Plans of Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand. Volume One: Province of Auckland

Preface

Preface.

1.	This volume of Plans of Government Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand is the one referred to in the index of "Maori Deeds," vol. i., and consists only of those of the Auckland Province.
2.	They have been carefully copied from, the originals by different draughtsmen of varied ability, as will be seen in the difference of style and execution; and have then been worked off at the Government Printing Office, by Mr. J. Earle, the lithographer. To bring them within reasonable size for reference, many of the plans have had to be reduced by Mr. Deveril, the photo-lithographic artist of that establishment; hence the small and obscure appearance of many of the names and figures, which, however, can be distinctly read by means of an ordinary magnifier.
3.	Every plan specified by the letter P, in the index above referred to, has been copied, when available, except in the case of a few rough Maori sketches, which the utmost ability could not produce as a correct or reliable delineation. Such, therefore, have been entirely omitted.
4.	In the unavoidable absence of consecutive numbers, the mode of classification adopted has been in the order of districts and date, which, for reference, will be found nearly as convenient as the ordinary arrangement by No. and page. As the plans could only be copied when the deeds referring to them were available for the purpose, no better method could be taken, and the deficiency can be easily supplied by each possessor of the volume.
5.	To prevent all mistake, however, the index not only contains the Crown Land Office No. of the plan to which the name of the block relates, but also the No. of the deed in the order in which it appears in the volume already published. The alphabetical index will show at once whether the plan of any particular block has been inserted or not; and where such is not the case, reference must be had to the maps of the General Survey Department for information.

H. Hanson Turton,

Wellington, 12th September, 1877.