Station Life in New Zealand

Station Life in New Zealand

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Lady Barker #2 in our series by Lady Barker
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Title: Station Life in New Zealand
Author: Lady Barker
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6104] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on November 6,

2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STATION
LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND ***

Produced by P J Riddick

Station Life in New Zealand
by Lady Barker.
1883

Preface.
These letters, their writer is aware, justly incur the reproach of egotism
and triviality; at the same time she did not see how this was to be
avoided, without lessening their value as the exact account of a lady's
experience of the brighter and less practical side of colonization. They
are published as no guide or handbook for "the intending emigrant;"
that person has already a literature to himself, and will scarcely find
here so much as a single statistic. They simply record the expeditions,
adventures, and emergencies diversifying the daily life of the wife of a
New Zealand sheep-farmer; and, as each was written while the novelty
and excitement of the scenes it describes were fresh upon her, they may
succeed in giving here in England an adequate impression of the
delight and freedom of an existence so far removed from our own
highly-wrought civilization: not failing in this, the writer will gladly

bear the burden of any critical rebuke the letters deserve. One thing she
hopes will plainly appear,--that, however hard it was to part, by the
width of the whole earth, from dear friends and spots scarcely less dear,
yet she soon found in that new country new friends and a new home;
costing her in their turn almost as many parting regrets as the old. F. N.
B.

Letter I: Two months at sea--Melbourne.
Port Phillip Hotel, Melbourne. September 22d, 1865. .... Now I must
give you an account of our voyage: it has been a very quick one for the
immense distance traversed, sometimes under canvas, but generally
steaming. We saw no land between the Lizard and Cape Otway
light--that is, for fifty-seven days: and oh, the monotony of that
time!--the monotony of it! Our decks were so crowded that we divided
our walking hours, in order that each set of passengers might have
space to move about; for if every one had taken it into their heads to
exercise themselves at the same time, we could hardly have exceeded
the fisherman's definition of a walk, "two steps and overboard." I am
ashamed to say I was more or less ill all the way, but, fortunately, F---
was not, and I rejoiced at this from the most selfish motives, as he was
able to take care of me. I find that sea-sickness develops the worst part
of one's character with startling rapidity, and, as far as I am concerned,
I look back with self-abasement upon my callous indifference to the
sufferings of others, and apathetic absorption in my individual misery.
Until we had fairly embarked, the well-meaning but ignorant among
our friends constantly assured us, with an air of conviction as to the
truth and wisdom of their words, that we were going at the very best
season of the year; but as soon as we could gather the opinions of those
in authority on board, it gradually leaked out that we really had fallen
upon quite a wrong time for such a voyage, for we very soon found
ourselves in the tropics during their hottest month (early in August),
and after having been nearly roasted for three weeks, we plunged
abruptly into mid-winter, or at all events very early spring, off the Cape
of Good Hope, and went through a season of bitterly cold weather, with

three heavy gales. I pitied the poor