First Year in Canterbury Settlement

Set sail on a journey back to 1860 with Samuel Butler, as he leaves behind his life as the son of a Church of England clergyman and ventures to the South Island of New Zealand in search of fortune. Arriving at Lyttleton, the key port for the Canterbury Settlement, Butler embarks on a life-changing adventure into sheep farming. In A First Year in Canterbury Settlement, Butler vividly recounts his daring travels on horseback along the Canterbury rivers, leading him to the high country sheep run where he founded his station, Mesopotamia. He successfully returned to England in 1864, with his pockets filled from the sale of Mesopotamia. Butler, also the acclaimed author of Erewhon and The Way of All Flesh, brings his experiences to life in a way that is as engaging as it is enlightening. (Summary by Gail Timmerman-Vaughan)