Hocken Digital Collections

Sutherland, Louise : Papers

Details

Reference NumberARC-0621CreatorSutherland, Louise, 1926-1994DescriptionThis collection contains a wide range of materials. Items include Sutherland's letters, diaries and notebooks describing her various trips through South America (1978), Brazil (1985), a run with the Mobile Clinic (1985) and her travels through Europe, Canada, India, the Middle East and Scandinavia (1950s-1970s). A large portion of the collection contains papers relating to the Amazon and Amazon Trust Project, which involved fund-raising for the Mobile Clinic (1974-1992). There is also a large amount of correspondence with friends, family and business associates, including her mother (1970-1978), friends in Australia, Canada, Brazil, and America, and various publishers.
Another significant part of the collection relates to Sutherland's two publications 'I Follow the Wind' and 'The Impossible Ride' and includes signed copies of the books, drafts, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, reviews and book orders. There are also other draft works by Sutherland, including 'Trans-Amazonica : Across Brazil by Bicycle' and various reminiscences.
Other material in the collection includes some personal papers such as passports, birth certificates, Plunket baby books, and school records, for Sutherland and her sisters; newspaper clipping and scrapbooks, containing clippings relating particularly to Sutherland, other cyclists and adventurers, christmas cards from the world over, and other specific areas of interest; publications by Pat Andrew, including, 'My Life with Louise'; audio-visual material such as audio cassette tapes and video cassette tapes containing radio interviews, descriptions of her travels and a Mobile Clinic run; slides, especially of South America; and photographs and photograph albums of Sutherland's various trips, the Mobile Clinic, her friends and family and her wedding.
Miscellaneous material includes maps, an address book, certificates for achievements, a Brazilian medal and plaque of honour and two skirts (evening and day wear) embroidered with a pictorial story of her travels through the Amazon. These were worn during her lectures and addresses to various groups.
Only a small part of this collection is digitised and available through Digital Collections. Information about other items can be found on the Hākena catalogue, through the Library Catalogues link above.History / BiographyLouise Juliet Sutherland was born in Dunedin in 1926, the eldest of five girls. After completing her nursing training at Oamaru Hospital around 1948, Sutherland left New Zealand for a cycling tour of England. From there she travelled through Europe to the Middle East, remaining for a time in places such as Nazareth and Amman and gaining temporary nursing work.
Once her finances were replenished, Sutherland continued her travels. After the Middle East, she spent time travelling through India and by 1955 had toured Canada and America. Sutherland then booked her passage to England on board the 'Queen Mary' but was without sufficient means to pay her fare until she won a TV quiz show four days before embarking. In London she met and became engaged to Pat Andrew, a writer and cartoonist.
By 1956 Sutherland was cycling through Scandinavia and, on return to London that same year, married Pat. In 1960 she set about both writing and printing 'I Follow the Wind' (reprinted in 1962 and 1972), the story of her travels so far, while also nursing and entering the lecture circuit. Before returning to Dunedin with Andrew in 1964, Sutherland travelled to Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Once back in Dunedin she and Pat set up their Southern Cross Press at her mother's home. After the breakdown of her marriage, around 1964, she continued her travels, taking in Hong Kong, Russia and Iceland. By 1974 Sutherland was travelling through Peru. The lack of medical help available to the Indians altered her plans and she spent the next eighteen months as a nurse to the local tribes. Ill-health later forced a return to New Zealand where she reprinted her book and sold it at lectures. She raised $25,000 for Peru between 1976 and 1977.
In 1978 Sutherland became the first person to bicycle through the Amazon jungle. She returned with the desire to establish a mobile health clinic to meet the medical needs of the inhabitants there. To this end, Sutherland wrote 'The Impossible Ride' which recounted her journey through the Amazon and saw it published first in 1982 and again in 1990. The proceeds of the book were donated to the Mobile Clinic. In 1985 she saw the fruition of her efforts when she participated in a Mobile Clinic run. Sutherland spent the rest of her life in semi-retirement at Waihola near Dunedin, continuing to raise over $80,000 for the Amazon Trust. Sutherland died in 1994.

Louise Sutherland with her book 'The Impossible Ride'

Depicts Or Relates To

SubjectsVoyages and travelsBicycle touringNursesEurope - Description and travelSouth America - Description and travelMiddle East - Description and travelWomenEnvironmentFund raisingTravelers' writingsCyclingCyclists

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Sutherland, Louise : Papers

Hocken Collections | Te Uare Taoka o Hākena