The goldfields of nineteenth-century Aotearoa New Zealand have
long been talked and written about as almost exclusively male places. Many
historians have either ignored women completely or mentioned them only as wives
or as prostitutes. But they could and did make their way to these tough,
unforgiving environments, often very early on, and not just as the givers of
sexual favours, either via marriage or for money, but as adventurers,
entrepreneurs and, most of all, as survivors.
Until now too little has been known
about these remarkable women, who journeyed to Golden Bay, Otago, Marlborough,
the wild West Coast and the Thames – or, in the case of Māori, were often
already on the fields. But this ground-breaking book changes all that. Based on
30 years of extensive research, Digging Deep tells the stories of the
women who set up stores, ran (and often owned) hotels and became wealthy
businesswomen, who worked as barmaids and dancers, who raised their children in
challenging conditions, sometimes as widows or deserted wives, and who were
miners themselves. There were characters aplenty, including Porpoise Maria,
Sugar Annie, Dirty Mary and the notorious Mrs Swords, but also many women who
were victims of alcoholism and illness or suffered the trauma of rape and the
shame of unwanted pregnancy.
In Digging Deep Julia Bradshaw
has given a voice to the fascinating and forgotten women of the New Zealand
goldfields. This lively account, rich in memorable images, fills a
long-neglected and significant gap in the social history of our country.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Not insignificant: Women on New Zealand’s
goldfields
PART I: THE GOLD RUSHES
1. Gold- rush women
2. The first rushes: Aorere and Otago
3. Wakamarina, then the West Coast
4.Thames and afterwards
PART II: BOUNDARIES
5. Significant spinsters: Single women
6. An unequal contract: Being married
7. Striving bravely: Widows
8. Adjustable relationships
PART III: SURVIVING AND THRIVING
9. Making a fortune: Businesswomen
10. In demand: Barmaids and dance girls
11. Living freely and fast: Prostitutes
12. Troubled lives
PART IV: OUT OF THE SHADOWS
13. Adept with a long- handled shovel: Women who mined
14. Adaptable survivors
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Julia Bradshaw has
worked in museums for more than 30 years and is currently Senior Curator Human
History at Canterbury Museum. She has a background in South Island history and
has a special interest in New Zealand’s gold rushes, Chinese, women and remote
places. Julia has published five books on these topics, including The Land
of Doing Without: Davey Gunn of the Hollyford (2007, CUP) and The
Diggers’ Story: Accounts of the West Coast gold rushes (2014, CUP).
