The Town of New Plymouth in the Year 1843

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Sketch taken by Mrs Wickstead, of John Tylston Wickstead Esq. The Company's agent on Mount Eliot. Reference: "Early History of New Zealand" published 1890.

Mashland Hill                                                              Mount Egmont

Kings Arms Inn      Captain Drowy                                                      Mr Veale     Mr Oxenham    Chapel       Club House (Mr Fishley)
Messers. Hoskin and Carter

New Plymouth

In a letter to England to his mother in 1854 , Benjamin WELLS, who was living in a house called Mount Pleasant, at, Te Henui, New Plymouth wrote: .....We received you kind letter containing a pair of black gloves. I am sorry they were quite rotten and went to pieces the first time of wearing. .....We had green peas for supper on Christmas Eve, they were from decendants of the Prussian Blues I brought out from Uncles shop. Zac's peas have all been planted this season. We are saving them for seed next year. We are going it at earnest. ......our livestock are as follows, 1 girl, 1 boy, 1 heifer, 1 sow pig, 1 tom cat, and I think Zac has some rabbits. The letter goes on to give a fair description of the house and garden but the sign off sentence is quite odd & quaint; It says; 'Dear Mother, we do wish you would come out and lay your bones here....." Posted by Helen Cormack GENANZ-L May 26, 1998. (BTW. The mother died before bringing her bones out here).

Jessie Campbell wrote;
Wanganui May 8th 1842;

My dearest brother,
I have just heard the dear expeditious BROUGHAM is to return to London direct. I am so glad to have an opportunity of writing home at last. No vessel has left the settlement direct for London since the BAILEY sailed last November. ....When I last wrote I was busy preparing for our removal to this place. I shall begin with an account of all our adventures from that time, We embarked on board the CLYDESDALE on 24th Nov., with all our luggage, poultry, 3 goats, 2 kids, 2 cows, the rest of our cattle were to follow by land, and an arduous undertaking it was to pack up with only one stupid woman servant to assist. We narrowly escaped shipwreck at the entrance of the river; the CLYDESDALE was rather too large a vessel to be easily managed in so narrow a space. The pilot from nervousness put her on a reef called the North Spit, among the breakers - for a short time we had no hope that all our lives would be saved. Even now it makes me nervous to write about it. One gentleman who had a life preserver and has taken a fancy to Susan, said he would take charge of her. I was the only one on the boat with children. While we were sitting awaiting our fate, they were trying to get the boats out to get the women ashore. The vessel gave a tremendous bump and slid into the proper channel. In a short time we were safe at anchor inside the bar. Oh how thankful I was Captain C was so composed he gave their liberty to a pup and a cat we had on board shut up in a box. ....We like this place better than PETONE. We occupy at present the best house in the place, it belonged to a missionary. Living is very cheap so far as pork and potatoes go, which are the principal produce of the country. We buy everything from the natives by barter, will get a basket of potatoes weighing 20lbs for a fig of tobacco or a tobacco and pipe. They will give you a good pig for a single English blanket which costs 11/- in Wellington. .....We are so fortunate to have the children at school; they are taught by Miss KING, an Irish lady who came here with her brother. She is an old maid and capable of doing them justice. They have books called Judgement books in which she gives an account of how each task was said and of their conduct. This is brought home every night with excellent effect. Our treatment of them regulated by this account.... .....She has three pupils besides, The two English sons of Mr DAWSON, our Police Magistrate and the son of Doctor WILSON, a little fellow half English, half Spanish. .....My children will speak a queer lingo, half English, half Scotch, half Irish.

Believe me your most affectionate sister
Jessie Campbell.
Posted by Helen Cormack GENANZ-L June 9, 1998.