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The first European to discover the area was James Mackenzie, after whom the region is now known. Mackenzie arrived from Scotland via Australia in 1855, as he was escaping the authorities at home for sheep stealing - an art for which he became legendary in New Zealand. Mackenzie set up camp in Southland, and would roam hundreds of miles with his faithful dog 'Friday' staying on sheep farms, while overnight, Friday would round up a flock of sheep and move them faraway before day light. James Mackenzie would then reunite with Friday and the sheep that his dog had 'acquired', and slowly drove the mob all the way to Southland, where he would receive a good price at the sale yards.
Mackenzie overstepped the mark when he stole hundreds of sheep from the wealthy Rhodes brothers farm near Timaru, and moved these through a pass (which now bears his name), into the Mackenzie Basin.
Unfortunately for Mackenzie and Friday, the overseer - John Sidebottom - and his two Maori shepherds, Taiko and Seventeen, followed the trail further west than any European had gone before, and discovered Mackenzie near Mount Misery.
Mackenzie had been caught with the 'stolen goods' and was tied up. However, he escaped that night and journeyed to Lyttleton, where he believed his dog had been taken. He was recaptured by the authorities in a boarding house and sent to trial, where he received five years hard labour for sheep stealing.
Mackenzie continued to escape in search of 'Friday', and continued to be recaptured, turning him into something of a local legend. Public opinion then encouraged the visiting Governor to grant Mackenzie a pardon because the trial was conducted in English, whereas Mackenzie only spoke and understood Gaelic, and he was not represented by a lawyer.
A condition of the pardon was that James Mackenzie has to depart New Zealand and never return. This legendary chain of events occurred between March 1855 and January 1856 - less than one year. Today the region, a pass, and a stream are all named after this remarkable, colourful character.
A monument was erected in 1917 in the Mackenzie Pass, and the inscription is in Gaelic, Maori and English, commemorating James Mackenzie's capture.
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