New Zealand: The Contact Period Revision
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Friday 30 October 2009
Thursday 22 October 2009
Saturday 10 October 2009
Economic and Political Change
The Long Depression of course began before the collapse of the Bank of Glasgow in 1878. Virtually all of the available land in the South was now occupied by run holders. Sheer greed meant that most runholders had overgrazed their land (too many sheep for to long). Continual burn-offs and the rabbit plague had left a lot of land bare and unproductive. There was nowhere left to expand into. Many of the larger stations were also financially stretched having borrowed heavily to expand their operations. Low levels of production and low export prices crippled them. This could only be sustained while incomes (wool prices) remained high.
The drop in world wide wool prices hit the overstretched mortagages of the runholders hard and pushed many to the wall. Bankruptcy hit many and the Banks ended u[ owning many worthless properties. The drop in prices and the collapse of the rural economy led to the depression. We've been through this in class but remember the downward spiral...
The Depression took almost 5 years to be felt in the North. Why? Because, the north was less reliant on sheep, and (Cheap) Maori land continued to come onto the market allowing that economy to expand. Eventually the depression did arrive but the advent of refrigeration in the early 1880's also helped to aleviate the economic downturn.
The Government of Atkinson were also stretched because of the debt burden imposed by Vogels Scheme. The 20 million pounds required huge amounts of interest and in order to make payments they reduced their spending. This retrenchment policy while sensible thinking at the time actually made things worse. It put more people out of work and increased the downward spiral...
Older Historians (Sinclair, Oliver) have described the period as a depression but Belich has called it a (long) stagnation. Technically a depression is a continual series of regression (prices & wages fall) and this did not necessarily happen - wages did rise albeit slowly. Another effect was in the area of employment. In the South a lot of money was withdrawn from the sheep stations and needed new investment areas. There was still plenty of wool about and it was cheap. Money that would have been used in Primary production (farming) was pushed towards (secondary) processing the wool in MIlls. Woolen Mills sprang up and were filled with women whose wages and conditions were kept down.
Wages were low and often men were replaced by Women and Children who could be paid even less. The demand for cheap clothing effectively forced wages even lower.
Eventually Reverend Waddell gave his sermon on the 'Sin of Cheapness' and the Sweating Commision was created in the wake of public outrage that Sweating had followed them to this 'Better Britain'.
This possibility struck a raw nerve in the minds of settlers whose aspirations did not include poverty and its attendant problems. The Royal Commission report denied the presence of sweating although many of the 'necessary conditions' existed in Dunedin and other southern towns.
The Tailoresses Union was widely supported and soon other Unions appeared to protect workers and to employ collective bargaining as a bargaining tool. In areas where Unions had similar interests they grouped together, the Maritime Unions - Wharfies, Seamen and Railway workers had common interests (employers) and in 1889 chose to join their equivalent Australian Unions in a strike. There was little support (it was an Australian Strike after all). With little popular support they lost.
However it resulted in an awakening an underlying class conciousness and political awareness in settlers especially those who had recently acquired the vote. Having a say in Government gave many people the belief that their MP's should actually represent them. Until now the it seemed logical that MP'swould support the big businesses that had elected them. Now that every man had the vote they looked for fair representation from their MP. The old 'Continuous Ministry' was the Government of the old system... it was this that led to the election of the Liberals.
However it resulted in an awakening an underlying class conciousness and political awareness in settlers especially those who had recently acquired the vote. Having a say in Government gave many people the belief that their MP's should actually represent them. Until now the it seemed logical that MP'swould support the big businesses that had elected them. Now that every man had the vote they looked for fair representation from their MP. The old 'Continuous Ministry' was the Government of the old system... it was this that led to the election of the Liberals.
Belich: Refrigeration and re-colonisation
Before 1882 Dairying had been a minor industry. It was a small scale localised operation run out of small mixed farms. Poor infrastructure (esp. transportation) mean that milk could only be supplied to local towns or villages. Processed into butter or cheese it could travel further but not much, especially in the summer. There was also the problem of consistency, each farmer (or his wife) had their own recipe so that every batch was different.Dairy farms were thus generally small affairs dealing to the local population and barely making a living.
In the Taranaki, Chew Chong, a chinese trader kept many small farmers from starvation when he began to purchase a local fungus from them. When refrigeration was introduced small dairy factory's sprang up to support the growing dairy industry and the Taranaki was ideally suited to this. Chong built one of the first factories, continuing to support his clients. He preferred to take their milk and produce his own cheese and butter, a more consistent product that sold more readily.
Later co-operatives forced him out of the business but he remained a highly regarded member of the community.Dairying opened up the Taranaki and other areas, giving many of the small farmers a leg up the economic ladder. The creation of co-operatives gave them the strength of many and allowed them to apply economies of scale. Wool was hard pressed by the depression but Dairying resulted in an economic expansion rather than retrenchment and the bankruptcy that devastated some parts of the South.
In the Taranaki, Chew Chong, a chinese trader kept many small farmers from starvation when he began to purchase a local fungus from them. When refrigeration was introduced small dairy factory's sprang up to support the growing dairy industry and the Taranaki was ideally suited to this. Chong built one of the first factories, continuing to support his clients. He preferred to take their milk and produce his own cheese and butter, a more consistent product that sold more readily.
Later co-operatives forced him out of the business but he remained a highly regarded member of the community.Dairying opened up the Taranaki and other areas, giving many of the small farmers a leg up the economic ladder. The creation of co-operatives gave them the strength of many and allowed them to apply economies of scale. Wool was hard pressed by the depression but Dairying resulted in an economic expansion rather than retrenchment and the bankruptcy that devastated some parts of the South.
The export of dairy products helped to diversify the economy and expanded the settlement of New Zealand, along with the expanding infrastructure that pushed Europeans into every corner of the country. As noted in your handout New Zealand went from a single commodity economy (Wool) to a treble (Wool, Meat and Dairy Products). Expansion of this industry through the 1880s meant it was well placed to take advantage as the 'Long depression' dragged to an end.
So the effects of dairying can be summed up with the opening up of the North island, increased settlement with improved transport (road and rail) and communications. The development of new industries including dairy factories and abbatoirs for the processing of meat (creating more employment opportunities) . The expansion and diversification of the economy and finally the destruction of the Kahikatea (White Pine) which was used in the production of boxes for butter. (aka the butter-box wood).
(New 2008) Belich in his book Paradise Reforged has proposed that in the 1860's and 1870's New Zealand was beginning to lose its ties with britain and forging its own sense of identity. The advent of refrigeration however reinforced our dependence upon Britain and effectively recolonised the country. This dependence both econiomic and social would not be broken for almost a century.
So the effects of dairying can be summed up with the opening up of the North island, increased settlement with improved transport (road and rail) and communications. The development of new industries including dairy factories and abbatoirs for the processing of meat (creating more employment opportunities) . The expansion and diversification of the economy and finally the destruction of the Kahikatea (White Pine) which was used in the production of boxes for butter. (aka the butter-box wood).
(New 2008) Belich in his book Paradise Reforged has proposed that in the 1860's and 1870's New Zealand was beginning to lose its ties with britain and forging its own sense of identity. The advent of refrigeration however reinforced our dependence upon Britain and effectively recolonised the country. This dependence both econiomic and social would not be broken for almost a century.
Pastoralism: Wool and Meat
As we discussed in class Pastoralism is the farming of pasture (aka grass). In New Zealand this has traditionally been in conjunction with either sheep or cattle. Before 1882 pastoralism was associated with sheep (and mainly Merino) and the wool they produced. In farming terms this is called extensive sheep farming. The farms are large and a long way from town. The farms had their own name, 'stations' or 'runs' borrowed from their equivalent in Australia and most likely carried across with the earliest sheep farmers who came over to the South Island in the 1850's.
This was the also the origin of the term "Cockie" for farmer (Refering to the Cockatiels that infested farmland especially at harvest time). This period from the 1850's was the 'wool period' when the imported Merino sheep ruled the tussock lands of the South Island, and the flat lands of the Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. This period saw the creation of vast estates especially in the South Island.
This was the also the origin of the term "Cockie" for farmer (Refering to the Cockatiels that infested farmland especially at harvest time). This period from the 1850's was the 'wool period' when the imported Merino sheep ruled the tussock lands of the South Island, and the flat lands of the Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. This period saw the creation of vast estates especially in the South Island.
Using the Australian model it was a simple matter of claiming land with the Provinical Government and leaseholding the land, often with the view of making it freehold as quickly as possible. Although as we will discover they did not always own all of the land they controlled. The key was liquidity and the creation of huge flocks of sheep. New Zealand's climate provided warm weather and plentiful rain, which meant plenty of grass, a few ewes and a ram did the rest.
The Stations needed large pools of labour, especially at shearing time. Shearing gangs travelled with the season southward to stations as they were needed. Wool could then be stored and transported to port for shipping to Britain. Wool developed a new market in coastal transportation. All of this activity created vast wealth for a favoured few and left a bitter taste in the mouths of many migrants who found land difficult to acquire in the 1870's. In the south this wealth tended to dominate local and later national politics. In 1882 this all changed.
REFRIGERATION.
The wool period was responsible for opening up large areas of the South Island and created a new class of land owners. By the end of the 1860's most of the South Island was owned by a relatively small number of families. The Sheep stations were enormous with tens of thousands of sheep supplying vast quantitie's of wool, but relatively little meat. It turns out Merino meat is not very tasty. (fishy apparently?) Apart from areas of the Wairarapa and the Hawkes Bay sheep farming made little impact in the North island, due in part to the less suitable heavily forested land and the reluctance of Maori to sell their land.
The confiscations and the Land Court would in the main remove the Maori from this equation, but the forest would slow down any development. By the 1870's the growth in Britains population and its increased earning power created a demand for better quality food from around the world, increasingly they demanded meat - fresh or frozen. Argentina had already sent shipments across the Atlantic with some success. Australia sent its first shipment in 1871, giving sheep breeders in New Zealand hope that they to could establish a new industry. The work of a few enthusiastic and entrepreneurial Otago runholders saw the first shipment od sheepmeat sent to Britain in 1882.
The Stations needed large pools of labour, especially at shearing time. Shearing gangs travelled with the season southward to stations as they were needed. Wool could then be stored and transported to port for shipping to Britain. Wool developed a new market in coastal transportation. All of this activity created vast wealth for a favoured few and left a bitter taste in the mouths of many migrants who found land difficult to acquire in the 1870's. In the south this wealth tended to dominate local and later national politics. In 1882 this all changed.
REFRIGERATION.
The wool period was responsible for opening up large areas of the South Island and created a new class of land owners. By the end of the 1860's most of the South Island was owned by a relatively small number of families. The Sheep stations were enormous with tens of thousands of sheep supplying vast quantitie's of wool, but relatively little meat. It turns out Merino meat is not very tasty. (fishy apparently?) Apart from areas of the Wairarapa and the Hawkes Bay sheep farming made little impact in the North island, due in part to the less suitable heavily forested land and the reluctance of Maori to sell their land.
The confiscations and the Land Court would in the main remove the Maori from this equation, but the forest would slow down any development. By the 1870's the growth in Britains population and its increased earning power created a demand for better quality food from around the world, increasingly they demanded meat - fresh or frozen. Argentina had already sent shipments across the Atlantic with some success. Australia sent its first shipment in 1871, giving sheep breeders in New Zealand hope that they to could establish a new industry. The work of a few enthusiastic and entrepreneurial Otago runholders saw the first shipment od sheepmeat sent to Britain in 1882.
The voyage of the 'Dunedin' in 1882 is accorded little real significance in our history certainly less than it deserves, and yet it is the watershed/tipping point in our history.Only one carcass was rejected at the end of that first voyage, and reports were very favourable. So successful was this venture that British farmers demanded that shipments be labelled as 'New Zealand Mutton'. Initially we sent only Merino and mainly mutton, but quickly adapted to british demand for lamb. This worked both ways, the British got tastier meat in small (oven size) portions, we got to send more carcasses which were worth more. We also changed the breeds of sheep, Merino remained on some Runs producing high quality wool, while Corriedale and other breeds were producing a mix of wool and meat. In 1882 we sent 35,000 carcasses, by 1900 it was 3.5m per annum.
The downstream effect of refrigeration lay in the new industry surrounding the killing and processing of the meat. Refrigeration led to Railways to ship the meat and Cool stores to keep the meat, under the Vogels schemes, road and rail became a necessity to transport the meat to port where it was stored. While the main trunk line connected the main centers, branchline's were used to connect the hinterland to the ports.
The downstream effect of refrigeration lay in the new industry surrounding the killing and processing of the meat. Refrigeration led to Railways to ship the meat and Cool stores to keep the meat, under the Vogels schemes, road and rail became a necessity to transport the meat to port where it was stored. While the main trunk line connected the main centers, branchline's were used to connect the hinterland to the ports.
In many respects refrigeration created a new demand for land, but land was still hard to find. However the 'Long Depression' which arrived in 1879 with the collapse of the Bank of Glasgow had already begun to impact with many of the stations falling into financial hardship. The new exports helped but many were to over stretched and became bankrupt. It would take the Liberals to free up land for the 'little' man.
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