The first settlersin Canterbury, New Zealand, were so called in allusion to thepilgrims to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. Chaucer's`Canterbury Tales' were told by such pilgrims. The name wasgiven probably by Mr. William Lyon, who in 1851 wrote the`Dream.' See quotation, 1877.
1865. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 20:
«The `Pilgrims,' as the first comers are always called.
I like the name; it is so pretty and suggestive.»
1877. W. Pratt, `Colonial Experiences or Incidents ofThirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 234:
«In the `Dream of a Shagroon,' which bore the date Ko Matinau,April 1851, and which first appeared in the `WellingtonSpectator' of May 7, the term `Pilgrim' was first applied tothe settlers; it was also predicted in it that the `Pilgrims'would be `smashed,' and the Shagroons left in undisputedpossession of the country for their flocks and herds.»