Domestic expenditure of the Hector family in the early 1870s

Analysis of a large bundle of family accounts has yielded information on the lifestyle of James and Georgiana Hector in the early 1870s, when they lived in Museum House next door to the Colonial Museum in Wellington. James Hector was director of the Geological Survey and Colonial Museum. With a salary of £800 a year, as well as income from a marriage settlement, the Hectors were able to live well as part of the colonial social elite. Dr Hector clearly managed his money carefully, and there is no sign of high expenditure on social activities or entertaining. Mrs Hector patronised many Wellington shops, among which Kirkcaldie and Stains is the only one still in business.