The settler years / John Sargeant.

"Seeing no future in life as a tenant farmer in County Kerry, Sean Murphy walks away from the drudgery of his life and heads to the shipyards of Belfast. It is here he learns of New Zealand and the freedoms he never knew existed until now. With the dream of owning his own farm, Sean sets out on the perilous journey that would eventually take him to Middle River at Mokau, where, as the deck-hand on the SS Cardiff, he would meet Gwyneth Thomas. They marry, but Sean cannot and will not forget the beautiful Chinese woman, Moonyeen Wu and the dream of owning his own farm look like slipping through his hands until fate takes an unexpected turn. This is the story of the building of New Zealand where the tools are not just the picks and shovels of a burgeoning country, but hope, courage, passion, and an overwhelming love of the land. Unshackled from the traditions of their homelands, the men and women work, fight, love, and sometimes kill for what they believe in and the right to claim the land as their own. "