Joshua Morgan was one of the first surveyors of the Whangamomona valley. Along with his chainmen, packmen and cook, he was working in the chasm of the Tangarakau Gorge when, aged only 35, he took ill and died, probably of peritonitis, in March 1893. Two of his men walked day and night to get some sort of medical aid from the nearest doctor on the coast 50 kilometres away. In the event, their efforts proved far too late and almost certainly futile as there was little they could have done.
Morgan was buried alongside the Tangarākau River and the grave site is now a sobering stopping place for travellers in the area.
Top Plaque reads:
JOSH MORGAN
SURVEYOR
DIED 3RD MARCH 1893
Lower Plaque reads:
JOSH MORGAN
SURVEYOR
BURIED 3RD MARCH 1893
AGED 35 YEARS
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