John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth century Singapore and New Zealand.br/br/Thomson surveyed and explored large sections of the interior of the South Island. Many names in the area bear witness to Thomson's Northumbrian background, though there is a widespread belief that the naming of many places was through a disagreement with the New Zealand surveying authorities. It has long been suggested that Thomson originally intended to give traditional Maori names to many places, but these names were refused. In response, Thomson gave prosaic Northumbrian names to many places, often simply in the form of a Northumbrian dialectic name for an animal. The Maniototo region around the town of Ranfurly, Central Otago is rife with such names as Kyeburn, Gimmerburn, Hoggetburn, and Wedderburn as a result, and the area is still occasionally referred to as quot;Thomson's Barnyardquot;.br/