From the 1890s until the late 1940s, 15 to 20 domestic staff normally accompanied British governors to New Zealand. For Governor Ranfurly’s servants – seen here at Government House, Auckland, in 1903 – it may have felt like a five-year exile. Some took jobs or spouses in the colony, but the ones who wanted to return to loved ones back home had to serve out their term, since few had the money for a return passage. The man at right in the back row was an orderly provided by the New Zealand government.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Ranfurly Collection (PAColl-5745)
Reference: PA1-f-194-37-2
by Herman John Schmidt
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.