Denmark

ARRIVING IN NEW ZEALAND.

In may 1872 the ship hovding left Christiana (Oslo) and headed for Napier with 356 Norwegians and 11 Danes on board. At the same time the BALLARAT (with 71 danes aboard) also set sail for Napier.

18 familys settled on 40 acre sections between Palmerston and Foxton opening a road and tramway through the bush that gave settlers access to Palmerston.

Family often shared crude punga and totara bark houses while slub-huts were built. Men laboured on roads and railways, but often living away from home to pay debts. Women and and children remaind in rough forest homes growing cabages, potatoes and carrots among tree stumps.

In 1880 a massive bush fire razed nosrewood and threatened to do the same to ormondville. Bush fires helped cleared the felled forest but many houses, barns and fences also went up in smoke.

During the 1880 the railway slowly progressed through the bush.

In 1872 the first Southern Wairarapa settler arrivied in Wellington on the England at Marsterton the green starved settlers gathered water