THE LEGEND OF THE
LADY OF THE HEATHER

THE LEGEND OF THE LADY OF THE HEATHER:

The Lady of the Heather' was a Jacobite princess - the illegitimate granddaughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
She was kidnapped from France about 200 years ago, carried off to New Zealand and abandoned on remote Campbell Island.

This is the story and the legend that became
"The Lady of the Heather"

The Lady of the Heather by Will Lawson

The Poem inside the cover - Will Lawson

Down in the South, by the waste without sail on it -
Far from the zone of the blossom and tree -
Lieth, with winter and whirlwind and wail on it -
Ghost of a land by the ghost of a sea.
Wild is the cry of the sea in the caves by it -
Sea that is smitten by spears of the snow -
Desolate songs are the songs of the waves by it -
Down in the South, where the ships never go.

"The Lady of the Heather" - by Will Lawson
Published Angtns & Robertson (1945)

This is the review as appears in the Newsletter 10 (March 1971)

"The Lady of the Heather" - by Will Lawson
Published Angtns & Robertson (1945)

So was it all a myth, a legend from the previous century and the sighing in the tussock must merely have been an asthmatic seal elephant over the hill. At least author Lawson does state that his effort is a novel, but the few facts on Campbell Island are seriously in error and his Victorian prose is all but suffocating after 160 wasted pages.

One is borne away on an incredible Cook's Tour in the very first page, where Marie Armand, Our Lady of the Heather, paces the sand of North-West Harbour as she looks across the waters of Perseverance Inlet to the high rocks above Monumental Harbour - no mean feat. Nor should the reader lose his way as he is forced to run through the tea-tree and around the base of the black cliffs which tower above him.

His 'rough' seamen are kindly, shy and well mannered creatures and a crisis is narrowly averted in a later chapter: "A dull anger glowed in her heart; if it had not been this kindly captain to whom she spoke, she would have been rude." Alores - such wickedness of heart might well have soiled our image of this fragile goddess.

All is not lost however, if one progresses no further than the flyleaf, where a simple but picturesque extract from a poem by Henry Kendall appears:

Production: Thanks to Swamps Crompton, Peter Fisher, Ellie Debouci and Tony Parker NESC.

The legend of the Lady of the Heather:
Lyrics:

She’s the ghost of the land
She’s a ghost of the sea
She’s been banished to this island
It’s been said that she’s the daughter of Bonnie Prince Charles of Scotland
Who fled to France,
who fled to France

Treated as a traitor to the Jacobite Cause
Suspected of spying on England
She was handed over to a whaler and a sealer
Captain William Stewart
Who whisked her away to the bleakest exile
Of Campbell Island

Down on the south
Weather ships never go
She’s lost to the wind
She speaks to the stars
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea

She walks in the moonlight
In a tartan gown
A paisley shawl and she’s with a silver buckle
And in her Glengarry bonnet, she wears a sprig of Scottish Heather
She wears Scottish Heather

The ships crew left her to her fate
Not before leaving her with the ship bell
She would ring out the Angelus bell in her lonely hours
In her lonely hours

Down on the south.
Weather ships never go
She’s lost to the wind
She speaks to the stars
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea

She calls to the wind
She calls to the sea
She waves heather at the whalers, hoping they will see
She’s lost her mind. She’s lost her way
She watches the sunset

Just another day

All music and Lyrics - Tony Parker NESC
Produced by Tony Parker and Peter Fisher

Lady of the Heather

The Lady of the Heather was a Jacobite royal, the unacknowledged granddaughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was abducted from France roughly two centuries ago and transported to the distant shores of New Zealand.

She was left stranded on the isolated Campbell Island, where she endured a solitary existence, residing for an undetermined period, perhaps months or even years, in a sod hut nestled in Camp Cove. This humble abode was thoughtfully adorned with delicate lace curtains and even boasted a garden adorned with heather.

Although sporadic visits by sealers who frequented the island did grant her fleeting human contact, she ultimately passed away in her modest hut, a poignant and lonesome castaway.

Norm Judd, a recognized authority on Campbell Island, possesses extensive knowledge about this sub-Antarctic locale. Judd's intimate connection with the island spans nine visits, starting with his leadership of an expedition in 1975. Among his responsibilities, he has undertaken comprehensive surveys of all known archaeological sites on the island.

According to local lore, dating back to the 1820s, an intriguing tale emerges. It revolves around the alleged abduction of the illegitimate granddaughter of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who, driven by a falling-out with associates of Charles Edward Stuart during his exile in France, sought refuge as far from Europe as possible.

It is said that Captain Stewart, the explorer credited with discovering Stewart Island, held affiliations with the Jacobites and agreed to transport her to a remote corner of the world. Upon reaching New Zealand, the account suggests that Captain Stewart may have sold her to a sealing crew destined for Campbell Island.

Supposedly, the abductors outfitted her humble dwelling with a few creature comforts, including the presence of delicate lace curtains. They also purportedly undertook the cultivation of flax and heather, fashioning a cobblestone path that extended from the hut to the water's edge.

Notably, Judd emphasizes the tangible existence of the hut, path, and grave. He points out that non-native flax continues to thrive at the site, and there are credible reports of heather once flourishing there until it was disrupted by seals.

Various renditions of the story suggest that the woman endured a year within the confines of the hut before succumbing to starvation, ultimately finding her resting place in a nearby grave.