Kiwi Classic: The Runaway Settlers by Elsie Locke

First published 1965 and re published by HarperCollins in 2009 this story of early colonial New Zealand tells of a plucky mother and her children who escape an abusive husband and father by emigrating to New Zealand. They settle on Banks Peninsula, near Christchurch, and set up a small market garden to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for Lyttelton. Some of the harsh living and working conditions of those days are experienced, including virtual slave labour for a landowner, a burn-off which turns into a bushfire, and a trek to the West Coast to sell cattle.

While the neighbourliness and strong family ties reveal the strengths of colonial life, Locke dosn't gloss over the hard working conditions, isolation, and a lack of human rights. This book will certainly give readers a vivid insight into the challenges our pioneers faced.