MELLONS BAY by Suzanne Singleton

 

Mellons Bay is a real suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after an early settler to the area - William Mellon, an Irish migrant who came to New Zealand in 1849 as part of the Royal NZ Fencible Corps. He was a surveyor by profession, his skills and experience well sought after. He was eventually able to purchase a large piece of coastal land that came to be known as Mellons Bay.  The author is the great great grand daughter of William Mellon and his wife Harriet, so is very well placed to write this story of how her family came to New Zealand. 

It is a work of fiction rather than a family biography, and reads like a novel as a result. There are a number of histories about the Fencible settlement scheme, as well as journals and family anecdotes. The author has much more scope using all this information to create a work of fiction, and who knows how much of the finer detail is true. It doesn't matter really, as the author has written a very engaging, interesting and tension filled novel. It is William's story, and also the story of Harriet, the stunning redhead with a beautiful and haunting singing voice. From different sides of the tracks, William went out on a limb marrying Harriet, and in a time when contraception was non existent, Harriet had pregnancy after pregnancy. There are plenty of stresses and strains on the marriage, and set in the desperate economic times of mid-century Ireland, life is not at all easy. The decision to come to NZ is a good one, with many consequences for both Harriet and William. 

The author admits there is very little known about Harriet's life and she has used her imagination to build her character and life. What amazing women these early migrants to NZ were - so many children, husbands frequently absent, very basic houses.... the list goes on. The author brings all this to life so vividly, giving the reader a wonderful insight into daily life both in NZ and in Ireland. There are thousands and thousands of NZers who are descended from these early Irish/English/Scottish settlers, and we have a lot to be thankful for that they came here with their strength, determination, resilience, and hope for a better life. I really enjoyed this, and can see why it has sold very well not just in the local area, but also through out NZ, so many of us having grown up with stories of how we are only a few generations removed from being one of those migrants.