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Showing posts from February, 2019

From Edinburgh to the Kaipara Harbour - Andrew James and Elizabeth Frances BONAR

On the day in early summer, 1863, when Daniel Manders Beere called to take their photos, Andrew and Elizabeth Bonar had been in New Zealand for just on 4 years. For the photo Andrew wore a light coloured suit – trousers, buttoned waistcoat and open jacket   – with a black shirt and black bow tie. Really quite dashing. Elizabeth chose a full-length dress in a light-weight fabric – it looks like seersucker. The dress has quite wide sleeves that reach to just below the elbow and Elizabeth’s arms are covered by the cuffs of a white lace garment that she is wearing under the dress. A white lace collar and a white bonnet complete the outfit. Although there is a bench seat on the verandah, Andrew and Elizabeth are seated on dining chairs, positioned at the top of the steps up to the front door of their home in Kaukapakapa, a short distance from the southern shores of the Kaipara Harbour, where they settled following their arrival in Auckland in December 1859. Andrew is seated casually, wit