The Thames Journals of Vicesimus Lush 1868 - 82

Stock Code:
BAE1863
Price:
$40.00

Description

The Thames Journals of Vicesimus Lush 1868 - 82. Edited by Alison Drummond. 'The get-rich-quick days of a New Zealand goldfield are shown here from an unusual angle. Vicesimus Lush, first Vicar of Thames, watched from boom to decline the turbulent mining community known as Shortland and Grahamtown. Whether he is describing one of the many wretched voyages to Auckland on a crowded little steamer, home-made peach wine, or a woman saved from drowning in the main street mud, his words have a disarming honesty, a compelling authenticity. There were some extraordinary people in early Thames: such as the redoubtable explorer James MacKay; Georges Trousseau, son of the famous Paris doctor; the entertaining and inimitable Thatcher; the Quaker Ellen Fox; lively Kate Macdonald; accomplished Cathy Poutotara, Lady Martin's Maori ward - to say nothing of the misfits attracted to a gold town: well-born remittance men, and 'reduced gentlewomen' starting their one-room schools that inevitably failed. But then, early Thames was an extraordinary place: where fortunes could be made in speculation at Script Corner, where fire could destroy a street in minutes, where the Academy of Music extended over the water and performances might depend on the tides! And where profits from the rich Caledonian mine built the comfortable parsonage.' the dust jacket has light to medium general wear but remains complete. The book has light foxing but remains tight and bright.

Details

  • Author:
    Drummond, Alison (Editor)
  • Book Condition:
    Good Plus
  • Publisher:
    Pegasus Print, New Zealand
  • Edition:
    First
  • Jacket Condition:
    Good
  • Binding:
    Hard Cover
  • Location:
    X4
  • Size:
    8vo
  • Pages:
    277
  • Publish Date:
    1975
Stock Level:
1 In Stock
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