Letters to Emma: Early Oamaru through the eyes of the Sumpter family

The 'black 1880s' were a hard time
for many in New Zealand, and this was felt across society — for young men
struggling to establish themselves and 'patriarchs' alike.

Such a patriarch was George
Sumpter, prominent citizen of Oamaru, sometime Mayor, Provincial Representative,
father of eleven, and general wheeler-dealer. And such a young man was Richard
Davies, a Welsh immigrant who came to work for George and, in the best tradition
of fairy tales, fell in love with George's first-born child...