By the turn of the 20th century, the relative
ease and regularity of steamship travel had given Australians new
opportunities for overseas adventure. New Zealand, with its thermal
attractions and fascinating indigenous Maori race, was in easy reach
and was a favoured destination.
Jane Wheeler, from rural Western Australia, went on her own voyage
of discovery in 1901 when she sailed with her husband and sister
from Fremantle to Auckland, then travelled south to Rotorua and the
volcanic wonderland.
Along the way, Jane kept an extensive and literate travel journal in
which she described the voyage, the stopovers in Melbourne and
Sydney, and her experiences in what was then known as Maoriland. She
makes keen observations on Rotorua’s natural wonders and the local
Maori.
This was heady stuff for a travel ingenue, and settling into
Rotorua’s Geyser Hotel she wrote: “How shall I describe all I saw
today? It is all so wonderful. It is hard to realise that one is on
Mother Earth, and not in some Land of Enchantment.”
• softcover •
96 pages • 13 illustrations
and period adverts