I. Caveat Lector

Prior to exploring Elwell’s story, a caveat must first be identified concerning the challenges and limitations of analysing this book. The main character Ernest follows the path typical of several hopeful travellers from Britain to New Zealand, venturing to the colonies in the hopes of discovering a simpler way of life. The account provided by Ernest is so meticulously specific that it presents itself as true, to the point that we might infer it being a recount of the author’s experiences. Upon closer research, it appears that this is in fact the case: Elwell travelled to New Zealand with his friend Henry Willmot when they were sixteen and seventeen, respectively (C. Elwell). Ernest thus becomes a stand-in for the author, who changed his and Henry’s names when he chose to write about his experience. However, it appears that the author moved to New Zealand solely for his time on the sheep stations; he left next to no trace of his stay in the country, then moved back to England.

Little else is known of Elwell’s life. It is known that he was born in 1842 and died in 1925, but in between is more ambiguous (C. Elwell). Of his career until 1878, when The Boy Colonists was published, there is no information. Records begin to appear after this, concerning four religious texts that Elwell published across twenty years: A Plea for Infant Baptism (1882); The Abuse of Public Patronage in the Church (1893); The Elementary Education Question (1899); and Short Readings for Parish Visitors (1904), which can be found in the British Library Catalogue. It appears that, once Elwell returned to Britain after his stay in New Zealand, his focuses shifted to the Church and promoting religion.

The complication arises concerning the book itself. There is absolutely no literary scholarship linked to the book, and likewise no historical sources. Elwell left no footprints during his stay in Otago, breezing into the country and out again without significant ceremony, and nobody as of yet has ventured to explore The Boy Colonists further. This introduction therefore must cast its net a little wider than a discussion of just the author and the text itself. It is instead an exploration of nineteenth-century colonial life, and the travel writing that was inspired by such rural excursions to the colonies. By assessing the literary and historical contexts surrounding The Boy Colonists, perhaps it may be possible to glean a little more understanding from the story itself.