Letters from Grace and Thomas Hirst (at sea, New Plymouth, Taranaki, Wellington) to members of their family in England., 1820-1896 and n.d.

Component identifier:

File Folios 1/86 - 12/189

Content Summary:

Letters from Grace and Thomas Hirst (at sea, New Plymouth, Taranaki, Wellington) to members of their family in England.

File 1/86-207, 1852-1853; File 2/1-226, 1854-1858; File 3/1-242, 1859-1862; File 4/1-230, 1863-1865; File 5/1-227, 1866-1868; File 6/1-255, 1869-1871; File 7/1-262, 1872-1874; File 8/1-286, 1875-1878; File 9/1-157, 1879-1882; File 10/1-180, 1883-1889; File 11/1-179, 1890-1896; File 12/1-189, undated.

Subjects include: Men have gone to Auckland diggings from the land; native disturbances; their house; the voyage; goods and clothes to be sent out for sale (File 1); native disturbances "there is a great fuss made about having troops here, but in my opinion the troops are as much to be feared as the natives"; selling produce; growing potatoes for the Australian market (File 2); voyage to England and return on William Brown - abandoning ship due to fire; Thomas' voyage to New Zealand, Maori wars, Grace's voyage on Silver Eagle to New Zealand (File 3); description of Wellington in 1863; disbanding the militia (File 4); native disturbances at Patea (File 5); massacre at Poverty Bay, "we are in a deplorable state in New Plymouth all under arms, the women and children sent into town", murder of Reverend John Whitely, visit to Napier, "land sharks have been and are the bane of the colony" (File 6); government buying land from natives and encouraging immigration by appointing agent (File 7); disturbances at Parihaka native settlement led by Chief Te White (1879, File 9); death of Thomas (1883), earthquake (1888), prosperous state of New Zealand economy, change of Governor (File 10); Jubilee celebrations (1891), death of Sir Harry Atkinson "best friend NP ever had" (File 11); Journal written by Thomas on voyage to New Zealand (File 12).

Processing information:

M2772-2774

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