Immigration and Economic expansion.

New 2009

Belich has labelled the waves of migration that occurred in 1840's and 1870's as explosive.

In class, we mentioned the staus of the different types of migarant. Planned settlers were those brought over in planned schemes... The NZ Company in the 1840's and the Vogel migrants in the 1870's immediatley spring to mind. They were a deliberate attempt to create communities with working social systems, hence the desire for families and later single women to balance out the ratios.

Amongst these groups there were also those who paid for their passage (voyage) and were allocated cabins and better accomodation on board ship. They were also allowed to bring more luggage and were given better meals during the trip. The ships carried a lot of livestock usually sheep, pigs, poultry and sometimes cows which provided a steady stream of fresh meat, eggs and milk. Others, were Assisted passengers whose passage was paid for. They had limited allocation of luggage and existed in the Hold of the ship crammed in with little or no privacy. Their food was also limited being mainly preserved meats and biscuit (Ships bread).

The migrants who arrived sought land and the possibility of improving their station in life (their class). Initially economic growth was limited by a lack of available land especially around the NZ . Co. sites of Wellington, Nelson, Wanganui and New Plymouth. Auckland had fewer limitations while Christchurch and Dunedin established in 1848/50 had easier access to land.

Wellington and Nelson began to develop after the Hutt Valley war when the Ngati Toa stranglehold was broken. Wanganui had to wait for the end of the 1860's and the suppression of Titokowaru before they could buy land from Maori willing to sell or use the Land Court to acquire it from Maori who did not.

Economic expansion took place as the population grew. Farming initially was at a subsistence level until enough land could be broken in to create a surpus capable of being sold in local towns and cities. Tecnological advances wouldincrease production and the development of the interior beyond the hinterland saw export industries develop beyond the timber, flax etc model.

Extensive sheep farming did not support large numbers of Yoemen farmers, but Dairying did. Sheep helped opened up the South Island and Milk Cows and farming Co-ops opened up the North Island.

Elsewhere Unplanned Immigration took place principally around Auckland where the presence of the Government meant a building boom in the 1840's. The discovery of Gold in 1860 saw a huge explosion (Belich) in immigration with tens of thousands of miners heading for the various gold fields, of Otago, the West Coast and later Thames.

Suprisingly it is Auckland an unplanned site which achieves the best growth in the first few decades of the settlement. This is primarily on the back of a boom in building due to the presence of the government and later its role as port (with two harbours) for the import and export of goods made it attactive to settlers looking for work. Readily available land also made it more attractive than the southern twonships which were facing Maori opposition to settler expansion. In the 1860's the steady build up of the military to fight the King also turned Auckland into a 'little Sydney'.

Some of the first unplanned migrants had in fact been Australian Squatters who fled the drought stricken Australian grasslands for the south island. Their numbers were rapidly overtaken by the Planned settlers in Christchurch and Dunedin who also saw the potential for Sheep farming on a grand scale. Through various rorts most of the South Islands best land had been taken over by 1890.

Economic development relied on a growing population to create the local markets, provide the initiative and funding for further development and the labour to work on the newly acquired land.