Amidst the European accounts of early New Zealand, a book written by a woman stands out. Not only for its uniqueness, but often for its different point of view. Women like Charlotte Godley had a sharp eye for events, social niceties, people, and the trials of the early settler, particularly for what women had to endure. Maria Thomson (1807-1875) was such a woman, and became another rarity, a successful businesswomen in her own right in early Canterbury. She wrote an account of her travels in New Zealand, misleadingly titled Twelve Years in Canterbury, misleading because she fails to write anything about her twelve years, the book being an account of her travels in New Zealand before sailing back to England.  Nevertheless, its a good read, and there is one other thing. She calls herself Mrs C Thomson all through her life, carrying her dead husband’s name, Charles, to her grave, in the Barbadoes Street Cemetery in Christchurch. Here’s a short piece on her and her book.