Digging Deep: Women on New Zealand's goldfields

The goldfields of nineteenth-century Aotearoa New Zealand havelong been talked and written about as almost exclusively male places. Manyhistorians have either ignored women completely or mentioned them only as wivesor 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 ofsexual favours, either via marriage or for money, but as adventurers,entrepreneurs and, most of all, as survivors. Until now too little has been knownabout these remarkable women, who journeyed to Golden Bay, Otago, Marlborough,the wild West Coast and the Thames – or, in the case of Maori, were oftenalready on the fields. But this ground-breaking book changes all that. Based on30 years of extensive research, Digging Deep tells the stories of thewomen who set up stores, ran (and often owned) hotels and became wealthybusinesswomen, who worked as barmaids and dancers, who raised their children inchallenging conditions, sometimes as widows or deserted wives, and who wereminers themselves. There were characters aplenty, including Porpoise Maria,Sugar Annie, Dirty Mary and the notorious Mrs Swords, but also many women whowere victims of alcoholism and illness or suffered the trauma of rape and theshame of unwanted pregnancy. In Digging Deep Julia Bradshawhas given a voice to the fascinating and forgotten women of the New Zealandgoldfields. This lively account, rich in memorable images, fills along-neglected and significant gap in the social history of our country.

• Publication date: 8 June 2026
• Page count: 344
• Publisher: Canterbury University Press
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781988503547