Author: Richard Cato
ISBN: 9780473572242

Two Cousins Living in Colonial Wellington, by Richard Cato, began with the question: “Were Ann Rolfe and Abigail Rolfe sisters?” Abigail’s birth date and place were established, but Ann’s birth date and place were suspect.

Research for this book started in 2001 in the National Archives in England. This research/book was completed twenty years later with the help of DNA results obtained from family members through family research sites. The two cousins (sons of Ann and Abigail) went on the longest journey known to man in the 1800s, to New Zealand, to establish a business for themselves and their families. These two men opened a drapery and printing business in Wellington becoming pioneers in the growing city. Their story continues in the book.

Kingsley Field, in his foreword to the book, notes: – But as author Richard Cato points out, “The story begins with the grandparents of William and Henry…”

And almost invariably, the writing of a New Zealand family history begins thus. This is how it should be – many of us Caucasian New Zealanders have roots in Britain or other parts of Europe, and it is good to trace our ancestry back to those early people and places. It helps establish who we are…

The publication of “Two Cousins Living in Colonial Wellington” is another such work, and I believe it will be highly valued not just by extended family members, but also by wider researchers of New Zealand’s earlier times. It is yet another valuable nugget in the nation’s bank of its own history.