Archives Highlights - Earliest Correspondence

Letter from Chauncey Townsend - 1842
 
Ref: Wellington City Archives AA001:1:2

The earliest piece of correspondence held at Wellington City Archives is a description by settler, Chauncey Townsend, of his arrival and life in Wellington.

A newsy, four-page letter sent to a friend in England in 1842 includes gems of information such as this description of the bird life in Thorndon: "also the green parrot - I have shot hundreds and their feathers my dear Isabella has made into some excellent Pillows".

The letter is cross-hatched - the handwriting goes in both directions on each page - a common practice in the nineteenth century when paper was hard to get.

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