Almost every New Zealander has at least one, and often several, forebears who sailed from Britain and the 19th century to take part in the pioneering process, which built the country that we know today. From a variety of sources, including the diaries of passengers on a number of immigrant ships, mostly sailing vessels but also a few steamships, the author has told the story largely in the words of the participants themselves, thus giving a unique insight into what life was like during the long voyage (up to five months) down the Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope and through the storms of the southern ocean to New Zealand. The reasons for immigrating, the tearful farewells, the onslaught of seasickness, quarrels, epidemics, storms, fires, shipwrecks, shipboard activities, the fun of “crossing the Line“ into the southern hemisphere, and finally the excitement of viewing for the first time the land that they had gone through so much discomfort to reach, all are told in a highly readable, if not entertaining, way that exposes the reality of life on an immigrant ship in the days of sail.