John Gully accompanied Governor Sir James Fergusson (1832 - 1907) aboard his yacht HMS Blanche on a tour of the West Coast 16th - 18th June 1874. Fergusson was Governor of New Zealand 1873 - 1874.

There is reference to this visit on pages 58 - 59, New Zealand's Romantic Landscape, Paintings by John Gully, John Sidney Gully, Millwood Press Ltd, 1984