Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair | |
|---|---|
 Photograph taken by James J. Williams | |
| Born | 26 April 1800 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 16 October 1892 (aged 92) Makaweli, Kauai, Hawaii |
| Occupation(s) | Farmer, rancher, landowner |
| Known for | Niʻihau |
| Spouse | Francis W. Sinclair |
| Children | George, Jane, Helen, James, Francis and Anne |
| Parent(s) | William (or James) McHutcheson and Jean Robertson |
Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (26 April 1800 – 16 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 Niʻihau 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 Niʻihau for US$10,000 (equivalent to about $195,000 in 2023). She later bought additional lands at Hanapepe and Makaweli on the island of Kauaʻi.[1] Her descendants, the Robinson family, continue to own and maintain the island of Ni'ihau.[2]