Marlborough was one of the earliest settlements in the South Island of New Zealand, and its rich history is recounted here in great detail, from the explorations of Captain James Cook to the late 1800s. Lindsay Buick creates a lively and entertaining record of the people
who first settled in Marlborough and how they helped to build the province.
Excerpt: "On the day in question an unsophisticated son of Erin was enjoying a gentle ride on top of the load, when a wave of more than ordinary proportions came dashing against the dray and swept the unwary passenger off in the backwash. Pat fully believed that his hour had come, and thinking it right that his temporal affairs should cause no trouble after his demise, he shouted his last will and testament to those who were still in the dray, but between gulps of salt water and his frantic efforts to get ashore, all they could hear was this imperative injunction, “I leave all my money to my brother Mike. I leave all my money to my brother Mike.” But things had not reached such a desperate crisis, for Pat was soon fished out, and is still in the land of the living, so that brother Mike has not yet come into his inheritance."
252 pages, A5 format, illustrated