How they travelled
How emigrants travelled from Britain
Emigrants were mostly poor, so they could not afford comfortable
accommodation. This section looks at some of the hardships of
travel by sailing ship or early steamer. It also describes how
conditions improved greatly for the last wave of emigrants by
sea. Long months at sea Many Scots and others emigrated to New Zealand. This was an epic
voyage, since sailing ships may have taken three months to arrive.
So as to take advantage of the winds in the middle of the ocean,
the ship would often not sight land during its entire voyage half
way round the world. Food stayed fresh only for a few days. There
were sometimes pigs or chickens kept on board and killed during the
voyage. Otherwise, any meat had to be salted to preserve it. To go
with it there were hard ships` biscuits, often full of insects
called weevils. The water to wash it down was not very clean,
especially after being stored in casks for weeks. Given these conditions, those who found their way to New Zealand
must have been a tough, determined lot. They sound the sort of
pioneers any developing country would be glad of. However, this did
not stop the New Zealand Government in the 1870s encouraging
shipping companies to operate steam ships in order to attract `a
better class of emigrant`!
|
