Bravo Island settlement, 1879

Hi my whanau come from here as well.My mother was Kitty Solomon her mother was Bessie Goomes and her gfather was Manuel Goomes the second,would love to attend any reunion if any.

The American whaler was Urban Dennison Smith he went under the name Dennison U Smith . Dennison came from Groton , Connecticut , USA. He arrived at Stewart Island around 1860 after jumping ship . The ship being called the "RUNNYMEAD" . He married Susan Antoni in 1863 , sister of Johanna Antoni . Dennsion and Susan had 14 children , 2 of which drownwd at Bravo . Both Dennison Smith and Manuel Goomes where both boat builders at Bravo . Dennsion Smith and Tom Leask built the boat " ULVA " the first mail boat for the post .. The Smith family make regular trips back to their ancestral land on Bravo Island .

In my family it's always been Brava because of my ancestors link to the original Brava Island. I presume it has just been recorded incorrectly over the years. I'm not sure how on would go about confirming it though

Hi Justin Thanks for telling us more about this island. I note that in the Heinemann NZ Atlas and other sources it is called 'Bravo Island' - are you able to confirm that it should be officially 'Brava Island'? I have been able to confirm the Brava Island at Cape Verde - perhaps they were trying to avoid using the same name? Jamie Mackay

Brava Island was settled by an American and a Portuguese whaler. The latter was my great-great-grandfather and was named Goomes. He came from Brava Island in the Cape Verde Group which is how this Island got its name. The buildings in the picture are the two men's cottages. They married local Maori women with my GtGtGF marrying Joanna Antoni(Kamaku)of Ngai Tahu. Billy Connolly mentioned the men in his "World Tour of New Zealand" TV show, talking about how they jumped ship and lived in a cave on the island for a few years before building the cottages. Christopher Aubrey was a painter, also an American I believe, who was passing through when he painted this watercolour. At some point my ancestors left the island and my Grandmother grew up in Invercargill. She visited Brava in 2002, not long before she died.