Wayne Stack: In search of Greener Pastures – the Stack family in New Zealand

‘An Irish Smile’

             We Irish smile with mouth and eyes,

             We Irish smile with mind and heart

             The Irish in us is our life and not of us a thing apart.

             Hold tight the Irish that is in you

             For it in life will see you through.

Julia Mary (Stack) Voltz   1886-1963

 

In conducting the research for this article it became apparent that our extended Stack clan has retained a strong sense of family that has become lost to many in modern society. One reason for this is the closeness of the first generation that were born into and survived through the harsh life that was typical of 19^th century pioneering New Zealand society. Large Irish Catholic families had few opportunities to rise above their social status of the working class, where poor wages meant most children were forced out to work once they had completed primary school. The family was reliant on wages from the older children to supplement the family income, especially when the father had died young through illness or common work place accidents. This was the case for our family and it ensured that strong family values, fostered by their Catholic faith, kept the family together.

Read the full story by Wayne Stack here  In Search of Greener Pastures-A History of the Stack Family in NZ-