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1848
- March 21
- Canterbury Association formed in London.
- March 27
- Canterbury Association decides to buy land from the New Zealand Company.
- June 12
- "Kemp’s Deed" signed by Ngāi Tahu giving the New Zealand Company control of land from Kaiapoi to Otago.
- December 15
- Captain Joseph Thomas, William Fox, and surveyors Cass and Torlesse arrive at the site of Lyttelton in the "Fly". Thomas names the harbour "Port Victoria". He and his party had been sent by the Canterbury Association to choose a site for the New colony and make the necessary preparations for the arrival of settlers in 1850.
