Elizabeth Sinclair

Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (26 April 180016 October 1892) was a Scottish homemaker, farmer, and plantation owner in New Zealand and Hawaii, best known as the matriarch of the Sinclair family that bought the Hawaiian island of Niihau in 1864. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she married Francis Sinclair, a ship's captain. With six children in tow, the family moved to New Zealand. Her husband and eldest son (and much of the family's property) were later lost at sea.

After years of farming, mainly at Pigeon Bay on the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island, she decided to relocate to Canada. Unhappy with the conditions she found on Vancouver Island, she considered California but instead went to Hawaii where she bought the Hawaiian island of Niihau for . This would have been roughly 530 troy ounces of gold, which in 2024 would be worth about $1,269,000. She later bought additional lands at Hanapepe and Makaweli on the island of Kauai. Her descendants, the Robinson family, continue to own and maintain the island of Ni'ihau.

Early life

Elizabeth Sinclair was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 26 April 1800. Known as "Eliza", Eliza married Captain Francis W. Sinclair (1797–1846) of the Royal Navy on 13 January 1824.

New Zealand

The Sinclairs moved to New Zealand, arriving in 1841; they settled in Pigeon Bay in 1843. Eliza's husband and her oldest son George disappeared at sea in 1846 during a business trip headed towards Wellington. Her husband was carrying all the family's cash and produce supplies. After their disappearance, Eliza and her five remaining children were left to survive on their own. Eventually, with her children marrying and producing grandchildren, the Sinclairs needed more land, and Eliza's son Francis helped plan a new voyage towards that end.

Hawaii

At the age of 63 years, Eliza led 13 members of her family to Hawaii, arriving in Honolulu Harbor on 17 September 1863 on the vessel Bessie which has become an important record of the Hawaiian flora. The illustrations are of plants from Kauaʻi and Niʻihau islands.

Descendants Her descendants continue to run the island of Ni'ihau under their private ownership.