Over the Mountains of the Sea: Life on the Migrant Ships 18701885

By David Hastings

Drawing upon more than 80 personal diaries and journals of those on board, this resource explores the rich experience and the trials and tribulations of hopeful Anglo-Celtic pilgrims headed to Australia and New Zealand aboard migrant ships in the late 19th century. From daily routines to matters of food, health, religion, crime, and mutiny, this history unearths the humor, scandal, and personal triumph that defined the nautical pilgrimage of hundreds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Auckland University Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781775581352

David Hastings

David Hastings is a designer and art director who moonlights as drag queen Dottie Salami after the sun sets on Brooklyn. As one half of the borough’s favorite drag duo, The Salami Sisters, he has been featured in Paper Magazine and can be found performing around town in sweaty bars and on festival stages alike, as well as at the sisters’ self-produced show, Meat Sweats.

Reviews for Over the Mountains of the Sea

[debbiemccauley-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Delving into 82 personal diaries and journals and the records of 250 voyages, this book explores the journey of the Anglo-Celtic pilgrims headed to New Zealand in the late 19th century during the Vogel period of immigration. The migrant ships were many and varied and Hastings covers such things as daily routines, food, health, religion, crime, birth, death, disease and mutiny. His voyage narrative covers how ship space was allotted in relation to gender, class and marital status, the social dynamics on board and the single women confined to ‘the virgins’ cage’. The amount of research into this book is stunning and wide-ranging, including officers’ journals, ship logs, newspaper reports, government inquiries and court records.This is a fantastic look into New Zealand's migrant history and gave me a much needed insight into the long journey that my own ancestors undertook in order to reach Aotearoa during this time period. My family ships were: 'Ocean Mail' (1875); 'Jessie Osborne' (1876); 'Orari' (1876) 'Lady Jocelyn' (1878); and much earlier, 'Tyne' (1841); 'Inchinnan' (1852); 'Queen of the Avon' (1859), 'Oriental' (1859) and 'Steinwarder' (1864). An entertaining read and very well written, and important contribution to New Zealand history.