Amalias and Augusts house in Norsewood. Amalia sitting on the porch.

In 1872, Mr. Bror Erik Friberg, a university educated Swede, who had lived in New Zealand for many years, was sent to Norway to recruit Scandinavian men to do the hard work clearing the big forest Seventy Mile Bush, south of Hawkes Bay. He had moved to New Zealand with his German born wife in 1860. The emigration from the Scandinavian countries to North America had increased and many wanted to go there, but the ticket was expensive. New Zealand came up as an attractive alternative, even if most of the emigrants never had heard about this far away country before Friberg came to Norway.

Friberg toured Norway and as a result of his talks the ship Høvding, sailed from Christiania (now Oslo) bound for Napier on May 31st, 1872, with 365 Norwegian and 11 Swedish emigrants on board. Two of the emigrants on board were Amalia Flink and August Julius Andersson, both 24 years old. Among the Norwegian passengers was Amalias uncle Emanuel Fredriksson, 38 years old, and his wife Helena Eriksson, 42 years old and their 6 children. Emanuel was born in Bullaren but moved to Norway around 1860. Three and a half month later, September 15, 1872, the ship Høvding, arrived in Napier on the east side of the North Island.

Amalia Flink, born May 9, 1848 in Naverstad, was the daughter of the soldier Olof Persson Flink and Anna-Stina Fredriksdotter, sister to Emanuel Fredriksson. When she emigrated she left her three year old son Bernhard with her parents. August was not the father of Bernhard.
A grandson to Bernhard gave us the picture of Amalia and her family. He had found it in his grandfather’s belongings. It is possible that Bernhard took the picture himself. He was a sailor when he was young, and he could have visited his mother in New Zealand.
Amalia and August had six children in Norsewood, three sons and three daughters. Amalia died of cancer in 1898. August had a heart attack on June 14, 1916 and died at the railway station in Ohakune. He was on his way to visit one of his daughters.
The origin of August has not been exactly clearified. There is one possible candidate. August Julius born March 15, 1848 in Skallerod in Mo parish, son of a miller, Anders Hanson and Hilda Charlotta Thorén

The people below also came from Bullaren:
Ernst Olof Andersson from Ejde, arrived NZ 1907.
Johannes Blom from Torgerslund, arrived NZ 1872 (SS Hövding)
Christian Johannesson from Flötemarken, arrived NZ 1884
Carl Magnus Olsson from Mårtensröd, arrived NZ 1872 (Hövding)
Engelbrect Svensson from Naverstads sn., arrived NZ 1872 (Hövding)
Magdalena Johansdotter from Flötemarken, arrived NZ 1872 (Hövding)
Carolina Stenberg, arrived NZ 1874. Carolinas parents and siblings (7 st) emigrated to NZ 1885.

The above information comes from ”The Swedes in New Zealand” by Sten Aminoff. 1988.