The Rosanna Settlers with Captain Herd on the coast of New Zealand 1826-7..., by Hilda McDonnell. (2002) Preface | |
Contents: introduction | chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Journal | Sources |
When Grahame Anderson's Fresh about Cook Strait came onto the library shelves in December 1984 I decided to treat myself to a good look through it. A coastal sketch and extracts from a journal kept on board the Rosanna by Thomas Shepherd caught my eye. Shepherd had visited Port Nicholson in 1826.
Who was Thomas Shepherd? I decided to go to the Alexander Turnbull Library to try and find out. Through their indexes I learnt that Thomas Shepherd was a nurseryman and landscape gardener who died in Sydney, New South Wales in 1835. The Turnbull even had two books Shepherd had written. That same afternoon I was able to sit with two small leather-bound volumes with marble end-papers. One was inscribed by Thomas Shepherd and dedicated to Governor Darling, a name I vaguely associated with the Darling Downs in Australia. So began a 12-year investigation into the story of the Rosanna settlers.
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