Get ready for a new take on New Zealand society, history and geography in one of the first two books in The NZ Series, a snappily designed and fact-packed collection for intermediate and high-school age readers. This fascinating collection of writings and reflections by some of the pioneer women who came to New Zealand in the nineteenth century reveals the challenges they faced and overcame when they arrived in their new country. These are personal records, from diaries and letters, of courage, hard work, happiness and sadness, with a resolve that was essential for survival in this alien environment far from home in Europe. These women proved themselves physically and mentally capable of overcoming the challenges they faced. Accompanied by portraits of the women, newspaper clippings, and important visual markers of their tenacity such as the Women’s Suffrage Petition, Pioneer Women celebrates the legacy of these remarkable pioneers.