Immediately after the wedding, they emigrated to New Zealand on the
Glentanner, arriving in
Lyttelton on 3 October 1857. With strong ties to the Anglican church, he had a letter of introduction with him to
James FitzGerald, who had just gone to England as Canterbury's immigration agent (1857–1860), though. Colborne-Veel initially went farming in
Linwood and marked exam papers for
Christ's College. He was editor of the Christchurch newspaper
The Press from December 1861 to 1878 with a break of several months during 1868. In March 1868, he left during a time a deep economic depression to be sub-editor of the
Westland Observer, a newspaper run by
George Sale. At
The Press, he was replaced by
Charles Purnell. Towards the end of that year, the ownership of
The Press changed, its publication reverted from three times a week to daily, and Purnell moved on. Colborne-Veel was attracted back as the newspaper's editor by December 1868. Following his career as a journalist, education in
Canterbury was the area that he was most eager to enhance. He resigned from
The Press in 1878 to become secretary for the education board was principal of the
Christchurch Normal School (1893–1895), and was a member of the Board of Governors of
Canterbury College (1875–1895). He died suddenly during a meeting of the Board of Governors on 29 July 1895. He was buried at
Barbadoes Street Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, one son, and three daughters; his last residence had been in Montreal Street. His wife died in November 1910. ==Notes==