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Nancy Sutherland, (social reformer, founder of The Parents Centre) talks about the settlement of French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds where she lived as a child in the 1900s.
Her maiden name was Webber, and her family were long associated with French Pass. Her grandfather [Wallace Webber] who helped build the lighthouse at the Pass, was killed while cleaning his boat's engine. Her mother was very musical and a member of the Crump Orchestra of Nelson. She was not well-suited to the isolated life in the Pass.
She says the children were afraid of their father [George Webber], who was disappointed in her as he wanted sons. Corporal punishment and 'belting' was common, as they stole and lied often.
She says the children of French Pass were something of a tribe, united against adults and recounts anecdotes of mischief they got up to.
Her brother Wallace and his friend broke into the store used to supply the French Pass light-house and were severely punished.
Her grandfather used to run the lighthouse as well as the Post Office. They were educated at home and later at boarding school.
She talks about the different communities in the Pass - the farmers, the fishermen and the Italian and Norwegian families who had settled there also.
She discusses the free sexuality which prevailed among the children. She says they were very sexually curious but very ignorant and talks about a 'pre-teen experiment'. She tells the story of a local teenage girl who gave birth on the bow of a ship while sailing to Nelson. She says in her ignorance she though her monthly periods were a symptom of V.D. for many months, while she was at boarding school.
She talks about 'Ma Campbell', New Zealand's only woman sheep stealer. She says the French Pass children thought she almost a witch, and describes her unusual appearance and dress. She once sold Nancy's mother her own cherries, which she had stolen from the Webber's trees.
Her father's neighbour Dave Stewart had a property which adjoined Pelorus Sound, where Ma Campbell lived with her daughters at 'The Pines.' They would steal his sheep with their specially-trained dogs which worked in absolute silence. They were caught eventually after many years, but she put on a great show during her trial.
She says her independent childhood was influential in developing her great distrust of authority throughout her life.