Digging Deep – Women On New Zealands Goldfields

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Temporarily out of stock

ISBN: 9781988503547
Title: Digging Deep – Women On New Zealands Goldfields
Author: BRADSHAW JULIA

The goldfields of nineteenth-century Aotearoa New Zealand have
long been talked and written about as almost exclusively male places. Many
historians have either ignored women completely or mentioned them only as wives
or as prostitutes. But they could and did make their way to these tough,
unforgiving environments, often very early on, and not just as the givers of
sexual favours, either via marriage or for money, but as adventurers,
entrepreneurs and, most of all, as survivors.



Until now too little has been known
about these remarkable women, who journeyed to Golden Bay, Otago, Marlborough,
the wild West Coast and the Thames – or, in the case of Maori, were often
already on the fields. But this ground-breaking book changes all that. Based on
30 years of extensive research, Digging Deep tells the stories of the
women who set up stores, ran (and often owned) hotels and became wealthy
businesswomen, who worked as barmaids and dancers, who raised their children in
challenging conditions, sometimes as widows or deserted wives, and who were
miners themselves. There were characters aplenty, including Porpoise Maria,
Sugar Annie, Dirty Mary and the notorious Mrs Swords, but also many women who
were victims of alcoholism and illness or suffered the trauma of rape and the
shame of unwanted pregnancy.



In Digging Deep Julia Bradshaw
has given a voice to the fascinating and forgotten women of the New Zealand
goldfields. This lively account, rich in memorable images, fills a
long-neglected and significant gap in the social history of our country.

Format: Trade Paper
Publication date: 08/06/2026
Pages: 344
Temporarily out of stock