Author:
Paul W. Feenstra is a historical fiction novelist. Meticulously researched and detailed, his character driven novels create a dramatic window into our chronicled and complex past. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1959, to Dutch immigrants, Paul still commutes to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a multiple ‘Emmy’ nominated entertainment industry professional.

Will justice prevail over greed and ruthless ambition?

July 1839, without the permission of the English Government, the New Zealand Company ship, Tory, quietly departed England, anxious to reach New Zealand with the utmost speed. Expedition leader, Colonel William Wakefield’s objective is clear –  acquire millions of acres of valuable land from the natives at the lowest possible price.

On board the Tory, Andrew and Eleanor Stewart, young Scottish emigrants indentured to the New Zealand Company, are excited at the prospect of beginning a new life in a perfect town called Britannia. It’s the Utopia the company promised. 

Boundary highlights adversity as settlers struggle to survive the hardships of a new colony. Where mounting claims of illegally obtained lands and deception force local Maori chiefs to resist. How much more can they endure before they finally take action and revolt? 

Caught between the loyalty to their employer, and helping Maori, Andrew and Eleanor encounter schemers and murderers as they challenge the powerful New Zealand Company and the men who govern. Meticulously researched, Boundary is a story of greed and injustice, and draws attention to an often-misunderstood dark passage in New Zealand’s early colonial history.

Boundary

Ships creaked and groaned and spoke to Charlie Swanson in a language only he could understand. He believed that ships could talk, in fact he was convinced of it. Each ship was alive, possessed a soul and had a story to tell. Some ships were happy ships, others were sad, and within a short time of being below decks in the hold, or sliding through the filth in the bilges, he would know what type of ship he was in. 


Typically, and because of his slight stature, Charlie could be found in the deepest and darkest places aboard ship, creeping around where others couldn't venture, or just didn't want to go. With a lamp and his awl, he'd crawl through the stinking bilges looking for rot, stressed joints, or sometimes, repairing leaks. The nasty odours didn't bother him; sinus problems had prevented Charlie from smelling properly for years. The rats were tolerated; as long as they left him alone, he ignored them. It was a kind of unspoken truce between man and vermin. 


Chapter 42