The first organized European settlers arrived in Otago Harbour on the "John Wickliffe", which moored off what was now Port Chalmers on 23 March 1848. Captain Cargill who was the agent for the New Zealand Company and a small party went in the ship's boat to the head of the harbor, while the other passengers went ashore in parties to explore the land around Port Chalmers. The second ship, the "Philip Laing" arrived on 15 April 1848 to find a settlement surrounded by dense bush to the water’s edge except for a small clearing behind the centre of the beach and consisting of the New Zealand Company’s store, Tuckett’s former cottage and three whare (Māori huts). At the time Port Chalmers had 400 potential sections available compared with Dunedin’s 2,000.