The Luminaries

Chapters in Part 4 alternate between events that take place on April 27, 1865, in Dunedin, and on April 27, 1866, in Hokitika. This first chapter takes place on April 27, 1865, when Anna Wetherell arrives in New Zealand for the first time. As the ship approaches the dock in Dunedin, she has a pleasant conversation with a “fair-haired boy” on the deck about the albatrosses they can see (626). Anna compares large birds to ships and the boy agrees. When other people arrive on the deck, the boy leaves before they learn each other’s names.

On April 27, 1866, Anna Wetherell and Emery Staines remain imprisoned at the jail. Staines has been charged with “fraud, embezzlement, and dereliction” (629). Anna’s health has improved. Dr. Gillies treats them both for opium addiction by giving them small doses of laudanum to taper them off.

Since the events of March 20, 1866, in Part 3 of the novel, Lauderback has been elected to Parliament, Shepard has completed the jailhouse, and Carver and Lydia have been married. Staines has not said where he was in the months he’s been missing, although he remembers washing ashore at some point and going to Crosbie’s cottage.