Kōrero: Women and men

Women could apply to the Fund for Promoting Female Emigration, and if approved get a free passage to New Zealand. Ann Smith’s 1851 application tells a brief story of her life. She was 21, born in London, with both parents dead. She could read but not write – her application seems to have been written by a member of the church she attended. Emigration was a way to better herself. Her application was approved, and a note at the top of the first page tells of her marriage to Henare Pitt-Porutu.