Castles of Gold: History of New Zealand's West Coast Irish

From the 1860s, the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island was the scene of two major goldfields, attracting hopefuls from all over the world. Suddenly, where there had been the native bush and wide rivers, towns with 400 pubs and accommodation housing had appeared. Among the new arrivals were Irish miners, many of whom stayed on after the goldrushes as part of a community with its own distinctive character. This is the first academic study on the history of those Irish — where they came from, who they were, how many women came and what they did, how people sustained their family connections, what they believed — in the context of the history of the larger Irish diaspora. Illustrated with historical photographs, the book draws on private letters and oral histories as well as more conventional sources, and includes many individual migration and settlement stories.