Notes

Violet Monteath-Walker (nee Feathers) was a well known contributor to local newspapers between 1950 and 1991 and for the most part, her articles described historical aspects of Oamaru and North Otago in the 19th Century.
The articles gave an insight into the lives of early immigrants to New Zealand and in particular, the women. For many, escaping terrible living conditions in England and Scotland opened the door to the conditions they experienced in their newly adopted country.
Many of the new arrivals realised they would never return to the country of their birth but the establishment of large farming estates, such as Robert Campbell's Campbell Park at Otakaieke, meant that many of the new arrivals faced similar situations to those they hoped to have left behind.
Work to compile the writings was initially started by Violet's daughter Joy, but her sudden death in 2016, saw the role fall to Joy's husband and Violet's son-in-law, Mike Beard.
This book is a great read and an excellent historic publication. The Oamaru chapter, for example, has stories about the Old Oamaru Goal, the statue of David Mickle Jack, Oamaru's barrow boys and “Big Jock” - Laird of Red Castle, plus many more.