THE WEATHER IN 1861

Dr Samuel Hodgkinson comments on Southland Weather, 1861.

"We were told exaggerated stories of the Southland climate,
 for instance, that is was so bad that even a Highlander
 could not live there, and so much more of the same kind
 that the elderly woman servant whom my wife had brought
 out from Home became alarmed and decided to return to
 England instead of accompanying us south...In June, 1861,
 we left Dunedin in the little steamer OBERON for Riverton,
 which got aground in the channel and delayed us for some
 time. We reached the Bluff the next day and anchored there
 for the night and arrived at Riverton on the third day.
 Among the passengers were the late Captain MacCallum, 
 Mr. John Baker, surveyor, Mr. D. Durbridge, and a young
 gentleman named Wright. We lived at Riverton about six
 months. I bought land there, but did not build on it."


Transcribed by Corey Woodw@rd