History lesson

Friday, March 26, 2010

Here is a bit of New Zealand history. It is an amazing story. Some Polynesians came here about 1300 B.C. They came and went until about 1500 BC when a group stayed and the Maori were developed. About 1750, Captain Cook brought a ship of explorers and scientists and mapped the islands. For the next hundred years or so, people trickled in, mainly whalers. Unlike Australia, New Zealand was not started with convicts. Christchurch was established for the upper-class farmer. This didn’t go exactly as planned because many kinds of agriculturists came. In about 1850, four ship-loads of immigrants sailed into Lyttelton Harbor, and are said to be the “pilgrims” of Christchurch. This past week I found the ship lists of the “Mermaid”. She left England on 30 September 1862 and sailed into Lyttelton Harber 26 December 1862. On the ships lists were: George Farquhar, 26; Ann Farquhar, 23; Mary Jane Farquhar, infant; and Hannah Parks, 17. Ann was Hannah’s older sister. It seems amazing how early they were here, some of the first pioneers in New Zealand.