A war bride's story

They came in droves from all over the world, following the New Zealand soldiers who stole their hearts during World War Two.

And now the war brides' collective story is being told at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

It's a tale of war, love, following your heart and the challenges of adjusting to a new country.

Claire Dunlop was only 20 when she left the United Kingdom for New Zealand on a ship with 40 other war brides.

About 3700 women from 37 countries, including Canada, Italy and Palestine followed their husbands and fiances to New Zealand.

"I followed my heart to the other side of the world and I've never regretted it," the 86-year-old says.

Mrs Dunlop is one of the women historian Gabrielle Fortune interviewed for her thesis on war brides.

Her story appears in the Mr Jones' Wives exhibition, along with personal accounts from 60 other women.

Mr Jones' Wives is the name newspapers gave to the women who fell in love with New Zealand servicemen.

Frederick Jones was the defence minister who oversaw their immigration to New Zealand.

Dr Fortune began interviewing war brides in 2001 and had no idea what stories she would uncover.

"I really came to understand what it meant – the choice and the courage," Dr Fortune says.

Women as young as 17 arrived on our shores not knowing what their futures held.

Some were shocked to find the farms their husbands promised were small pieces of rugged land and others were left to care for elderly inlaws.

Life in New Zealand was too much for some to handle and they took their own lives.

Dr Fortune says the war brides' story doesn't only appeal to people interested in history but to "anyone who knows about moving country, settling, cultural adaptation, meeting new in-laws and so on".

Mrs Dunlop had an interesting first few days in New Zealand. She arrived in Auckland where her husband Allen met her.

They caught the train and set off for his home town of Westport, where she was greeted by cousins throwing confetti. But she wasn't too impressed with the town or her husband's stepmother.

"He said: `By the way my stepmother won't have you in the house'."

The stepmother changed her mind and let her stay – in the smallest room in the house despite two larger rooms being available.

"Either the girls were received with open arms or they really weren't wanted," Dr Fortune says.

A lot of the women smoked – something New Zealand women couldn't fathom.

"New Zealand women and in particular mothers-in-law were just appalled that these women smoked," she says.

Soldiers were stopped on the street by women asking why they married foreigners and not someone from their own country.

"I was a fallen woman because I'd go into hotels and drink and nice girls in New Zealand didn't do that," Mrs Dunlop says.

She met her husband in Christchurch, England, where her father had sent her and her mother to have time out from the air raids in Sussex.

Mr Dunlop had just arrived in the country three days earlier.

He was invited to her home to stay and would return to stay with her family every time he was on leave.

They married in 1944 and Mr Dunlop returned to New Zealand shortly afterwards.

The couple moved to Wellington where Mrs Dunlop joined an overseas wives club and formed strong friendships with other war brides.

One was Anne, a Scottish native who married Tom Grayburn.

It turned out Mr Grayburn had been with Mr Dunlop when he met Mrs Dunlop.

"When she asked him whether he knew of me he sat straight up and said: 'Good God, Allen didn't marry that woman did he'?"

But indeed he did and a loving marriage of 59 years ensued until Mr Dunlop died a decade ago.

Mrs Dunlop has no regrets but it still feels like "home" when she returns to the United Kingdom for holidays.

The exhibition was curated by Georgina White. It runs until September.