VI: Beyond the Exhibition
The long-term outcomes of migration for governesses were far from uniform. While some women found comfortable governessing positions, others married soon after arrival, started small schools, turned to alternative employment, or chose to return to Britain. Their varied journeys contain stories of both resilience and defeat, offering a glimpse into the complexities of colonial life and the ambitions of ordinary women.
The migration experiences of ordinary women leave little mark on the historical record. If you have a family member or connection with someone who worked as a governess in New Zealand between 1840-1914 and would like to share their story, please connect below.
Share your stories
Further Reading
The following is a selection of texts for further reading on governesses, female migration, and women’s experiences of colonial life in New Zealand.
Bishop, Catherine, Women Mean Business: Colonial Businesswomen in New Zealand (Dunedin: Otago University Press, 2019)
Brandon, Ruth, Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres (New York: Walker Publishing Company, 2008)
Clarke, Patricia, Great Expectations: Emigrant Governesses in Colonial Australia (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2020)
Clarke, Patricia, The Governesses: Letters from the Colonies 1862-1882 (London: Hutchinson & Co, 1985)
Diamond, Marion, Emigration and Empire: The Life of Maria S. Rye (New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1999)
Fraser, Lyndon, and Katie Pickles, Shifting Centres: Women and Migration in New Zealand History (Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 2002)
Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan, The Rise and Fall of the British Nanny (Hodder and Stoughton: 1972)
Hammerton, A. James, Emigrant Gentlewomen: Genteel Poverty and Female Emigration, 1830-1914 (London: Croom Helm, 1979)
Hughes, Kathryn, The Victorian Governess (London: The Hambledon Press, 1993)
Macdonald, Charlotte, A Woman of Good Character: Single Women as Immigrant Settlers in Nineteenth Century New Zealand (Auckland: Allen & Unwin, 1990)
Ruiz, Marie, British Female Emigration Societies and the New World, 1860-1914 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017)