Sarah Mathew
Subtitle: explorer, journalist and Auckland's 'First lady'
By: Tessa Duder
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Auckland, New Zealand : David Ling Publishing Limited
Language: eng
Number of pages: 208
ISBN-13: 9781927305072
Subjects: Diaries; Correspondence; Women pioneers; Biography; Frontier and pioneer life; Voyages and travels; History
Description: "When 27-year-old Londoner Sarah Mathew sailed for Sydney in 1831, seeing her married future in Australia, she had no idea that nine years later she would attend the founding of a new British colony a thousand miles to the east. By March 1840, she is in the Bay of Islands, joining husband Felton Mathew, newly appointed New Zealand's first Surveyor-General. Adventurous and fit, she accompanies him on a perilous two-month voyage south in a 46ft cutter to identify a harbour suitable for Governor Hobson's first capital, by sail and on foot covering hundreds of miles from Whangarei to the First of Thames. On 18 September 1840, Sarah is the only woman ashore for the flag-raising ceremony and regatta celebrating the birth of Auckland. She will make her home on the shores of the chosen harbour, the beautiful Waitemata. Fates decrees otherwise. Felton's career falters, and his health declines. Widowed young, loyal to Felton in life and death, Sarah will eventually make three voyages around Cape Horn. A natural-born journalist, she keeps diaries of her colonial adventures. Her surviving journals and letters brilliantly cover long voyages under sail, Auckland's bith, the personalities and politics of its capital years. For the first time, Sarah Mathew's story as a respected, tough-minded, steadfast wife is told in full, recognising her invaluable contribution to New Zealand's pioneer narrative"--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: How long-list journals from the 1840s are returned to New Zealand; title: A governess becomes a traveller to New South Wales; title: Exploring the wilds of New South Wales then sailing for New Zealand; title: Settling into life in the Bay of Islands; title: Exploring the natural beauty of the Bay of islands and meeting some of the natives; title: From the Whangarei heads to the Waitemata; title: Investigating the Tamaki and the portage to the Manukau; title: Visiting native villages and travelling far inland; title: Governor Hobson makes his choice; title: A capital grows, but Felton's position is lost; title: Some good luck and important letters obtained; title: A new Governor takes the reins and a dream is cruelly dismantled; title: Another voyage is endured but in port a life ends; title: A tragedy unfolds and another long journey is necessary; title: Struggles with money and yearning to be home; title: A scrapbook's secrets and yearnings, and legacies seen in a more truthful light.