In the early 1870s Booth worked on the stage in New Zealand, marrying actress Eliza Frances Eltham at the Union Hotel in Dunedin on 29 January 1873. During Booth's period in New Zealand his works for stage included: Guided by Public Opinion, or the Fortunes of a New-Chum (farce), Crime in the Clouds (drama), Formosa Married (farce), and New Magdalene.
