With the tens of thousands of refugees seeking safety in countries other than their own, we might reflect on the European settlers of NZ in the 1800s and their (comparatively) less traumatic but often torrid, journeys to this land of hope.

There are a number of books written on the subject. Some describe the voyage over of these immigrants and the lives they'd led in their lands of birth but also how they settled into this new country.

No Simple Passage : The journey of the London to New Zealand, 1849 – a ship of hope  describes the London’s journey to New Zealand in 1849. The author has created a diary of the trip her ancestor, Rebecca Remington, and fellow migrants made using, among other sources, the journals of the ship’s captain and that of a cabin passenger. She describes the England they escaped, the perils of the trip and follows the lives of the families on-board when they are in New Zealand.

Divided into different sections we have Dr Lancaster’s Daily Sick List:


with another section on particular case studies


and a nice extra;  brief family histories of those London immigrants.


The above resources are just tasters of what we have in our collections at Auckland Libraries. They tell the stories of these hardy travellers who sought refuge for whatever reason in an unknown country, millions of miles from their own.

Bridget

I have recently been revising my talk on how to locate passenger lists for those of our ancestors who have just appeared in records here in New Zealand.

During the course of this preparation I have been using a variety of material available here in the library (Auckland Central) and one in particular I feel is worth mentioning as for a small work it is so full of useful information.

The booklet covers the period 1840-1970 and covers a lot of ground in its 64 pages.

On the back of the booklet Christine explains its purpose:

I am often asked how to find when an ancestor came to New Zealand. This set me off on an exploratory path a number of years ago putting together the different schemes, periods and times to find out just who the people were coming at the different time periods and why.
This booklet is designed to make readers think beyond the square to see what else was happening in the world that may have led people to New Zealand.

So, what sort of things are included?  The usual suspects of NZ Company, gold rushes, Waikato and Taranaki military settlers (Land Wars), assisted immigrants etc.  However, it is the sections on the settlement of particular places in New Zealand and schemes that brought immigrants to this country that are invaluable.  For instance, those who arrived due to the cotton famine in the UK, Small Farmers with Capital, Brogden’s Navvies, Moravian Settlement, Sedgwick Boys just to name a few.

I was particularly interested to read about Brogden’s Navvies. I now think this may be how relatives of my 2x Great Grandfather arrived and this has given me food for thought about further possible records to explore.

The booklet is indexed with a bibliography of material additional to those mentioned in the text.

Anybody who is interested in immigration records into New Zealand should find something of interest in this short work.  Perhaps worth considering as a Christmas present for the family historian in your family?

Migration to New Zealand: a guide for family history researchers by Christine Clement (published by Unlock the past, 2014, Australia)

Marie