Story: Women and men

Come on over (1st of 2)

Come on over

Attempts to attract women to colonial New Zealand began early. In this 1839 poster advertising the first sailing of a shipload of Scottish settlers, single women are offered free passage:

[The] Bengal Merchant […] will positively sail from Post-Glasgow for New Zealand, with the first body of settlers from Scotland, on Friday, Oct. 25.

Single women, going out as Servants to Cabin Passengers, or in charge of Married Emigrants, will receive a Free Passage on board of this Ship.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-C-IMMIGRATION-1839-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Charlotte Macdonald, 'Women and men - Colonial beginnings: 1840s–1880s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ephemera/29206/come-on-over (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Charlotte Macdonald, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 Aug 2017