Leaving Scotland

John and Mary Salmond
Montrose – Otago district, New Zealand

John Salmond, originally from Montrose, and his wife Mary emigrated to Otago district, New Zealand, in 1849. It is likely that were encouraged by reports published in the local press and the Otago journal.

On arrival in New Zealand, they lived in Dunedin for a year. In 1851, they settled in the Tokomairiro area, present-day Milton, about 35 miles south-east of Dunedin, where John had purchased a double rural allotment. There were only two other settlers in the area at that time, and Mary was thought to be the first white woman in Tokomairiro. They had three children: Mary Ann, John, and William.

In 1861, when gold was discovered in Gabriel’s Gully, John set off to the goldfields but fell ill and was forced to return home. By 1865, John and Mary had already built a 12-roomed house called Karnford. John’s health deteriorated rapidly and eventually he became bedridden. However, with his wife’s help, he kept running his farm which prospered quickly. John died in 1899 and Mary in 1905.

Letter of John Salmond to his father concerning his emigration to New Zealand, Dunedin 4 March 1850(NLS shelfmark: Acc.12825/1 (i))

This letter was written by John Salmond soon after his arrival in New Zealand in 1849.
Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs A Mackenzie

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Photograph showing John Salmond as an elderly man, circa 1899. Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Eileen Elder (NLS shelfmark: Acc. 12825/2 (i))

This photograph of John Salmond was taken shortly before he died in 1899. When gold was discovered in the northwest in 1861, John set off to the gold-fields. During this time, he became severely ill with rheumatic fever, and had to return home to his farm in the Tokomairiro district. His health deteriorated very rapidly, and he became bedridden. This photograph shows him in his wicker bed which was usually positioned near the window. This allowed him to supervise the day-to-day running of the farm.

Photograph showing John Salmond as an elderly man

Photograph of Mary Salmond, circa 1880s. Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Eileen Elder (NLS shelfmark: Acc. 12825/2 (iii))

Mary Salmond accompanied her husband John to New Zealand in 1849. When they moved to the Tokomairiro area in 1851, there were only two other settlers living nearby. Mary was thought to be the first white woman in Tokomairiro.

Photograph of Mary Salmond.

Mary Ann Salmond, John and Mary’s daughter, circa 1860s. Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Eileen Elder (NLS shelfmark: Acc. 12825/2 (iv))

Mary Ann was the only daughter of John and Mary Salmond. They also had two sons, John and William. All of the children were born in New Zealand.

Photograph of Mary Ann Salmond

Karnford House, New Zealand, c.1900s. Reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Eileen Elder (NLS shelfmark: Acc. 12825/2 (v))

By the mid-1860s, John and Mary had built a 12-roomed house on their rural allotment in the Tokomairiro district. The house still stands today.

Photograph of Karnford House, New Zealand, c.1900s

The Tokomairiro Plain, from 'Twenty-five Years of Emigrant Life', 1874 (NLS shelfmark: 1874.26(9))

John and Mary Salmond spent a year in Dunedin before settling in the Tokomairiro area, present-day Milton. John purchased a double rural allotment and, by 1865, had built a 12-roomed house. In a letter to his father, John described the area as 'covered with a luxuriant grassy herbage, capable of grazing thousands of kine and bounded by nice easy hills also clothed with a rich carpeting of grass admirably suited for flocks of sheep'.

Image of Tokomairiro Plain

Communion token, Free Church of Scotland, 1843

The Free Church of Scotland was established in 1843 after a split from the established Church of Scotland. The members of the Free Church wished to remain free from state control in their internal affairs. John and Mary were members of the Free Church, and this probably played a large part in their decision to emigrate to New Zealand. The Lay Association of the Free Church wanted to establish a community of believers somewhere in the New World and, together with the New Zealand Company, promoted emigration to the Otago district. Rev Thomas Burns, who accompanied the first emigrant ship to Otago, toured Scotland in the mid-1840s to promote the new colony to church members. Communion tokens were given to those members of a congregation who were eligible to take communion.

Image of communion token

'Washing the gold', from the ‘Illustrated London News’, Aug 21, 1852 (NLS shelfmark: NJ.677)

When gold was discovered in Gabriel’s Gully in 1861, there was a mass exodus of men to the goldfields. The Otago gold rush also attracted more settlers to the region. John Salmond set off to the goldfields in 1861, but fell seriously ill with rheumatic fever and was forced to return home to his farm. His health deteriorated after this time, eventually leaving him bedridden.

'Washing the gold', from the ‘Illustrated London News’, Aug 21, 1852

‘Inducements to invest money in this undertaking’ from the Otago Journal, No.1, January 1848 (NLS shelfmark: RB.m.174)

The Otago Journal, published in Edinburgh between 1848 and 1852, promoted the new settlement at Otago to potential emigrants across Scotland. It included letters from Scots who had already emigrated, as well as information about the settlement and accounts of the journey from Scotland to New Zealand. The Journal was produced by the New Zealand Company and the Association for Promoting the Settlement of Otago.

Image 'Inducements to invest money in this undertaking'.

‘Departure of the first party of settlers to Otago’ from the Otago Journal, No.1, January 1848 (NLS shelfmark: RB.m.174)

The Otago Journal, published in Edinburgh between 1848 and 1852, promoted the new settlement at Otago to potential emigrants across Scotland. It included letters from Scots who had already emigrated, as well as information about the settlement and accounts of the journey from Scotland to New Zealand. The Journal was produced by the New Zealand Company and the Association for Promoting the Settlement of Otago.

Image Inducements to invest money in this undertaking

Sketch of the district intended for the settlement of Otago from ‘Scheme of the colony of the Free Church at Otago, New Zealand’, 1845 (NLS shelfmark: Hall.151.g)

This map of the Otago settlement shows the original Maori place names. A block of 400, 000 acres of land was purchased from the Maoris by the New Zealand Company. The ‘Otago block’ was divided into 2400 plots sold for 40 shillings per acre. The money raised from the sale of land was used to assist the migration of skilled craftsmen to the region.

Image of Otago.

Dunedin in 1848, from ‘Otago, New Zealand: Information for Intending Emigrants’, by John Cargill, 1860 (NLS shelfmark: ABS.2.79.49)

This picture shows Dunedin as it looked in 1848, at the time when John and Mary Salmond first arrived in New Zealand. The principal town of the Otago settlement was originally to be called New Edinburgh, but this was later changed to Dunedin. John Salmond described Dunedin as ‘a wonderment to all’.

Dunedin in 1848