On 9 October Captain Wakefield, Tuckett, Stephens, and their guide a Mr Moore landed at Kaiteriteri and discussed possible alternative locations with the local Maori.
How do I blush for my countrymen, when I write that our fears for the safety of ourselves and property are not from the natives, but from the gangs of bad white men who now infest the country."
[citation needed] During his time in Nelson Stephens kept meteorological records and provided 11 years of these to Captain Drury RN, HMS Pandora prior to his death.
[7] In 1845 he explored Lake Rotoiti and the Buller Valley, constructed a water-powered flour mill and surveyed a demarcation line between disputed lands at Wakapuaka.
In 1848 he wrote to his sister saying that his ‘miserable affliction' had left him a mental and physical wreck and that he had been unable to walk without great pain for nearly three years.
[11] His position in parliament remained vacant until the general election in November 1855, when Alfred Domett and Edward Stafford were returned to fill the two available seats.