Captivating historical novel on Julia Eichardt
While much of Queenstown’s history focuses on stories of the men of the time, author Lauren Roche is focusing one of the most influential women of the time – Julia Eichardt. Roche will launch a new historic novel at Eichardt’s this weekend, one which looks back on the vibrant community around Otago during the gold rush era.
The book, Julia Eichardt, shines a light on the remarkable woman who helped shaped early Queenstown – her story is one that mirrors the growth of the town, from a rugged settlement to a thriving town. Alongside her husband Albert Eichardt, she transformed the old wooden Queen's Arms Hotel, originally William Rees’ woolshed, into a stunning Italianate stone building, which became a symbol of hope and hospitality in the region.
“The founding men of Queenstown are well known to everybody, like William Rees, von Tunzelmann, St Omer and Hallenstein, and they’re memorialised in different ways around the place,” Roche says. “There are a lot of women who were really important then, too, and nobody really knew their names. Julia was more than just Albert’s wife – she came from a hotel background, Albert died 10 years before Julia did, and after his death, she managed to increase the value of the hotel and all of the hotel’s holdings really significantly. She was more than just Mrs. Eichardt, and she deserves to be recognised for herself.”
Roche is based near Whangārei and was excited when she was first approached to write the novel. She was drawn to this story about strong women, and herself has overcome much adversity. Her first novel Bent Not Broken chronicles her youth as she struggled to deal with sexual abuse, moving into her adult years where she worked as a stripper and as a sex worker. After a nervous breakdown she turned her things around, went back to school to make her life better and became a doctor. In 2012, she had an accident that prevented her from returning to work, which is where she first turned to writing.
“I published my first novel two years ago, it was called Mila and the Bone Man, and I was looking for a publisher for another piece of work that I’d done. The man that I approached said ‘Actually, I have someone who’s looking for a writer to write the story of Julia Eichardt.’”
From there, she got in touch with the publisher, and after some back-and-forth, headed down to Queenstown to start the research process. After heading around to places of significance, such as Skippers, and making some contacts here to help out, Roche headed home and continued her research online. As she got deeper into the process, she became captivated by the stories she was discovering.
“I was amazed at the resilience of the people who first came to Queenstown. When it morphed into a gold town, from just a land holding, the people were so resilient. They survived gales and floods, and heaps of natural disasters – and then the rabbits, which they really brought upon themselves. There were economic problems, a lot of illness and at the beginning there wasn’t a lot of medical care. There were a few doctors fresh off the boat from Scotland who operated out of tents at the very beginning, but there weren’t a lot of resources for people to call on, so they had to look after themselves and each other.”
Roche says the hardiness of the people of that time was very surprising to her. Beyond resilience, Julia Eichardt also explores themes of love, ambition, and ingenuity amid the harsh realities of 19th Century life. It also has a big focus on New Zealand heritage, historical fiction, and celebrates the enduring spirit of community. Eichardt had reinvented herself during hard times, and that’s a message Roche wants to hit home for readers.
“If we can take something from the people who founded the city; things change, disasters happen. You had recent floods in the last generation, and still the town came through, and it will continue to do so.”
Lauren Roche will be joined by editor Nicola McCloy at the book launch on Sunday, 17 August, at Eichardt’s Private Hotel and Bar. Tickets and more information can be found at Eventfinda or by clicking HERE. She also has events in Wānaka, Cromwell and Alexandra, which you can find on Facebook.
