Catherine Adamson

Catherine Adamson
Catherine Adamson
	Adamson on the verandah of Volis Station homestead, Whataroa
Born	Catherine Mary Ann Friend; 13 October 1868; Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Died	9 August 1925 (aged 56); Hokitika, New Zealand
Occupation	Homemaker; farmer; diarist;
Years active	1895–1906
Known for	Diaries of farming life in the Westland District of New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Robert Adamson (m. 1888)
Children	5

Catherine Mary Ann Adamson (née Friend, 13 October 1868 – 9 August 1925) was a New Zealand homemaker, farmer and diarist. Her diaries, which she wrote from 1895 to 1906, are a rare historic record of pioneer life in the Westland District of New Zealand.[1]

Early life

Adamson was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, on 13 October 1868. Her parents were Samuel Friend, a labourer, and Ann Elizabeth Langham. When she was a baby the family travelled to New Zealand and settled in Ōkārito, then the centre of commerce of Westland.[1]

On 23 September 1888 she married Robert Adamson, a farmer, butcher and flax-miller. His family owned land in the Whataroa area.[1]

Life in Westland

Adamson and her husband farmed Volis Station, a large forested block, which required a great deal of work to convert it into farmland. Her diaries recorded the work undertaken by the whole family such as churning butter for sale to local miners, catching whitebait, clearing bush and droving cattle.[1] A typical entry would be "Self and children weeding all day long".[2] She only briefly mentioned her own personal feelings and experiences; on the day of a son's birth in 1899 she made a record of the work being done on the farm by the men. In 1901 her son became ill and died. She wrote in her diary: "my Darling's funeral took place ... Family all came home leaving our Darling in God's world". Another of her children died in 1906.[1] In her diary she records visiting her child's grave to plant trees and shrubs.[2]

Adamson's life was hard and isolating, and she was supported by her female friends living throughout South Westland. The family made regular visits to Ōkārito, where her parents owned the Royal Hotel, and occasionally travelled to Hokitika. In 1901 she and her husband travelled around the North Island.[1]

Adamson died on 9 August 1925 at Westland Hospital, Hokitika, and was buried in the Whataroa cemetery. Her husband died in 1941 and was buried with her.[1] Her diaries were published in 1998.[3]

References

McCormack, Trish. "Catherine Mary Ann Adamson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
Bainbridge, Annette (2015). Birth, Death, and Marriage in the Garden: Canterbury Colonial Women Gardeners, 1850–1914 (PDF) (Masters of Arts in History). University of Waikato. p. 156. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
Adamson, Catherine (1998). Hearnshaw, Vickie (ed.). The diaries of Catherine Adamson of Whataroa, South Westland, 1895–1906. Christchurch, NZ: Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury. ISBN 978-0-4730-5562-2.

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[DNZB_Adamson-1] McCormack, Trish. "Catherine Mary Ann Adamson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 5 February 2021.

[Bainbridge-2] Bainbridge, Annette (2015). Birth, Death, and Marriage in the Garden: Canterbury Colonial Women Gardeners, 1850–1914 (PDF) (Masters of Arts in History). University of Waikato. p. 156. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

[3] Adamson, Catherine (1998). Hearnshaw, Vickie (ed.). The diaries of Catherine Adamson of Whataroa, South Westland, 1895–1906. Christchurch, NZ: Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury. ISBN 978-0-4730-5562-2.