Teachers for South Africa: New Zealand Women at the South African War Concentration Camps

In 1902, after winning coveted teaching contracts, twenty New Zealand women travelled to South Africa and were stationed in schools within the concentration camps created by the British. They were charged with the mission of educating and anglicising Boer children displaced by the military's 'scorched earth' policy. Fighting with the school-book rather than the sword, the teachers exposed not only their pupils, but themselves, to entirely new ways of life. For the first time, author Ellen Ellis brings together the women's voices and breathes life into an intriguing area of New Zealand's history previously overlooked. Presented in a beautifully designed, full-colour format, this highly-illustrated account draws on previously unpublished archival material consisting of the women's diaries, albums, postcards, photographs and letters. With a forward by eminent historian Sandra Coney, Teachers for South Africa introduces us to suffrage women embarking on life-changing adventures. Using their personal accounts, Ellen Ellis chronicles their lives, from experiences teaching in New Zealand's pioneer towns to rollicking adventures on the veld, showing that they were ahead of their time, representatives of the 'New Woman' and the future.