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Monrad Family Photo Album

Description: This photograph album belonged to Olga Elegie Monrad (1891-1919), daughter of Ditlev and Kamma Monrad. Photographs are from New Zealand and Denmark. There are no captions or dates but some identification has been made of Monrad family members.

Ditlev Gothard Monrad (1811–1887) was a prominent figure in nineteenth-century Denmark: a bishop in the Lutheran church and a noted scholar and politician. He was prime minister of Denmark during the 1864 war against the German Confederation, but when the Danes were defeated and lost considerable territory Monrad’s premiership ended in disrepute.

In March 1866, Monrad arrived in New Zealand, with his family and five young Danish men who also wished to immigrate. He eventually purchased land at Karere in the Manawatu, where he built a house and developed a farm. Some family members settled in New Zealand permanently after Monrad and his wife Emilie (d. 1871) returned to Denmark in January 1869.

The photos in this album are not captioned or named, but likely depict members of the Monrad exteded family and scenes of Karere lagoon.