Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (26 April 180016 October 1892) was a Scottish homemaker, farmer, and plantation owner in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, best known as the matriarch of the Sinclair family that bought the Hawaiian island of

Niihau Niihau (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai, Kauai across the Channels of the Hawaiian Islands#Kaulakahi Channel, Ka ...

in 1864. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, she married Francis Sinclair, a ship's captain. With six children in tow, the family moved to New Zealand. Her husband and eldest son (and much of the family's property) were later lost at sea. After years of farming, mainly at Pigeon Bay on the Banks Peninsula in the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

region of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, she decided to relocate to Canada. Unhappy with the conditions she found on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, she considered California but instead went to Hawaii where she bought the Hawaiian island of Niihau for . This would have been roughly 530 troy ounces of gold, which in 2024 would be worth about $660,000. She later bought additional lands at Hanapepe and Makaweli on the island of

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

.Novitz 2010 Her descendants, the

Robinson family The Robinson family are a fictional family from the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours''. The family were created by Reg Watson and introduced in the first episode of the serial, broadcast on 18 March 1985. The family initially consis ...

, continue to own and maintain the island of Ni'ihau.

Early life

Elizabeth Sinclair was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 26 April 1800. Known as "Eliza", she was one of six children born to William (or James) a successful merchant, and Jean Robertson McHutcheson (sometimes spelled "McHutchison").Peterson 1984, 335-340 Eliza married Captain Francis W. Sinclair (1797–1846) of the Royal Navy on 13 January 1824. They had three sons and three daughters. Sinclair was considered a master navigator, best known for saving the life of the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

in rough seas while escorting him on his return from the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

in 1815.Daws, 1962Harrington, ''Hawaiian Encyclopedia''

New Zealand

The Sinclairs moved to New Zealand, arriving in 1841; they settled in Pigeon Bay in 1843. Eliza's husband and her oldest son George disappeared at sea in 1846 during a business trip headed towards

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. Her husband was carrying all the family's cash and produce supplies.Joesting 1984, 190 After the disappearance of her husband, Eliza and her five children were left to survive on their own in Pigeon Bay. With her children marrying and producing grandchildren, the Sinclair clan needed more land, and Eliza's son Francis helped plan a new voyage towards that end. They sold their property in New Zealand and sailed to the Pacific Northwest of North America with the goal of acquiring property in British Columbia.

Pacific Northwest

In early June 1863, the ''Bessie'' arrived in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. The Sinclairs found the land wild and undeveloped with thick forests, making the effort required to clear land for agriculture close to impossible with their limited labor and resources. Eliza set her sights on California, but an acquaintance named Henry Rhodes recommended that they avoid the rough oceans during the winter as it would make anchorage difficult. Rhodes suggested that they sail to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) instead, since his brother lived in Honolulu. The Sinclairs agreed, and they boarded the ''Bessie'' one last time.Tabrah 1987, 97-98

Hawaii

At the age of 63 years, Eliza led 13 members of her family to Hawaii, arriving in Honolulu Harbor on 17 September 1863 on the vessel ''Bessie''Joesting 1984, 189 captained by her son-in-law, Thomas Gay. The 300-ton barque arrived fully provisioned, with

Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

sheep, one cow, hay, grain, chickens, a grand piano, books, and clothing. Eliza was considered a "chiefess" by the native Hawaiians she and her family employed on the island of

Niʻihau Niihau (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai, Kauai across the Channels of the Hawaiian Islands#Kaulakahi Channel, Ka ...

and in Makaweli on

Kauaʻi Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 mi ...

.Joesting 1984, 144 In 1885, her niece Isabella McHutcheson Sinclair, who married Eliza's son Francis, authored and illustrated ''Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands'' which has become an important record of the Hawaiian flora. The illustrations are of plants from Kauaʻi and Niʻihau islands.

Descendants

Her descendants continue to run the island of Ni'ihau under their private ownership.

Notes

References

*Bird, Isabella L. 1875.
The Hawaiian Archipelago: Six Months Among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands
'. London: John Murray. *Daws, Gavan, and Timothy Heap. 1962. . ''American Heritage'' 14, no. 6 (October): 48–51, 81–85. *Dunford, Bruce. 2003

''Los Angeles Times'', 1 June. *Harrington, Daniel. ''Hawaiian Encyclopedia'', s.v.

. Mutual Publishing. (accessed 8 September 2018). *Holt, Ida Elizabeth Knudsen Von and Harold St. John. 2005. ''Stories of Long Ago: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu''. Revised ed. N.p.: Daughters of Hawaii. . *Joesting, Edward. 1987. ''Kauai: The Separate Kingdom''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. *Keale, Sr. Moses, and Rerioterai Tava. 1990. ''Niihau: The Traditions of an Hawaiian Island''. Honolulu: Mutual Pub Co. . *Laracy, Hugh. 2001. The Sinclairs of Pigeon Bay and the Romantic 'Prehistory' of the Robinsons of Niihau. ''Journal of Pacific History'' 36, no. 2 (September): 183–199. *Novitz, Rosemary. ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', s.v.
Sinclair, Elizabeth – Biography
. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. (accessed 16 May 2012). *Peterson, Barbara Bennett, ed. 1984. ''Notable Women of Hawaii''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. . *Stepien, Edward R. 1988. Niihau: A Brief History. Working Paper series. Honolulu: Center for Pacific Islands Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa. . * Tabrah, Ruth M. 1987. ''Niihau, the last Hawaiian island''. Kailua: Booklines Hawaii Ltd. . * Wichman, Juliet Rice, and Harold St. John. 1994. ''A Chronicle and Flora of Niihau''. Lawai: University of Hawaii Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Elizabeth 1800 births 1892 deaths 19th-century New Zealand farmers 19th-century New Zealand women farmers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand horticulturists Niihau People from Hawaii Scottish Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from Kauai Ranchers from Hawaii British expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom 19th-century British farmers