Mrs William Sinclair Trotter (née Isabella Dalrymple)

The second daughter of William and Janet Dalrymple, Isabella Dalrymple was born in Scotland in 1828. Along with her sister Learmonth, she attended school in Edinburgh and travelled Europe extensively as a girl, becoming fluent in French. Isabella’s mother died in 1840. Her father subsequently remarried; however, his second wife also passed away. The Dalrymples then emigrated to New Zealand.

They left Gravesend, England in 1853 and travelled on board the Rajah, a ship struck with misfortune during its voyage. According to one passenger’s recollection, a pirate ship circled the Rajah and the ‘captain ordered all women and children up on deck and supplied them with weapons’. The pirates fortunately left the ship and the emigrants on board unscathed. No other diarists have reported this incident occurring however. Violent storms also battled the Rajah and severely damaged the stern.

After an eventful journey, the ship arrived in Port Chalmers in 1853 for repairs before sailing to Wellington. The Dalrymples decided to settle in Otago where Isabella’s father purchased land in Waikouaiti. Isabella then met William Sinclair Trotter, a farmer who had arrived in the area on board the Magnet in 1840. The couple married in Waikouaiti in 1855 and had eight children. Their first born, Alexander, died as a baby in Moeraki in 1856. After living in Moeraki the family eventually resided in Invercargill.

Along with raising seven children Isabella involved herself in charity events.  Her obituary, for instance, compared her to a ‘mother in Israel’ for her charitable contributions. Isabella’s sister Learmonth also became an advocate for social change in the colony and is credited with founding Otago Girls High School and campaigning for equal opportunities for female and male students at the University of Otago. Isabella died in 1910, 17 years after the death of her husband.