Social Aid in Otago and Canterbury up to 1885, With
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SOCIAL AID IN OTAGO AND CANTERB URY UP TO 1885, WITH SPECIAL REFEREN CE TO OAMARU AND ASHBURTON A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History in the University of Canterbury by K athleen I. St ringer University of Canterbury 2015 i Contents CONTENTS ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... I LIST OF ILLUSTRATION S ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... III ACK NOWLEDGMENTS ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. V PREFACE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... VII ABSTRACT ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. IX INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 1 M ETHODOLOGY ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 7 P UBLISHED SOURCES ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 7 U NPUBLISHED SOURCES ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 10 A RCHIVES ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 12 N EWSPAPERS ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 14 S IGNIFICANCE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 16 C HAPTER O UTLINE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 17 CHAPTER ONE: CREATIN G THE LEGACY OF CARE ; THE POOR LAWS ................................ ....... 19 CHAPTER TWO: INHERIT ING THE LEGACY; ESTA BLISHING THE COLONIE S .......................... 41 W AKEFIELD ’ S VISION FOR N EW Z EALAND ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 51 O TAGO AND C ANTERBURY ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................... 61 D R C HALMERS ’ INFLUENCE ON O TAGO ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 66 C ANTERBURY AND G ODLEY ’ S V ISION ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 75 T HE TWO PROVINCES COM PARED ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 84 CHAPTER THREE: EXPER IENCING THE LEGACY; OAMARU AND ASHBURTON ..................... 103 CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLU SION ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 165 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 171 P RIMARY S OURCES ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 171 ii S ECONDARY / P UBLISHED SOURCES ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 173 iii List of Illustrations Figure 1: Ashburton District 1864, Scotter (1965), p 483. ................................ ................................ .............. 104 Figure 2: North Otago, McDonald (1965). ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 106 Figure 3: Original Ashburton Immigration Barracks, Ashburton Museum Collection 03 .1988.0020 ................ 108 Figure 4: Oamaru Immigration Barracks, 1878. North Otago Museum Archives, 218 ................................ .... 119 Figure 5: Oamaru Immigration Barracks and addition 1898, North Otago Museum Archive, WDC 204 ......... 119 Figure 6: Inmates of the Old Men’s Home, Ashburton setting off to the Christchurch Exhibition, only a small proportion of these men came from Ashburton, Ashburton Museum, 04.1994.0209dd ................................ .... 120 Figure 7: Collecting for the Hospital and Charitable Aid, Ashburton Museum, 04.2004.0067v ....................... 143 Figure 8: Oamaru’s Ned Pickett, who lived on the foreshore within view of the Old Men’s Home, and sold fish (often illegally), sits by his burnt out hut. North Otago Museum Archive, WDC 324 ................................ ...... 149 Figure 9: By Laws and regulations to be observed by inmates of the Old Men’s Home, Ashburton, sourced from Tennant (1989), 205 – 207 ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 151 Figure 10: Rules of the Ashburton County Hospital, locate d in Ashburton County Council Committee Minute Book No.1. ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 152 Figure 11: These rules for an English workhouse, dated 1831, have man y similarities to those of the Ashburton Home. Author’s collection, original source unknown. ................................ ................................ ................... 153 iv v Acknowledgments This thesis has been a very long journey and I have been assisted by many people. Firstly, I wish to thank the History Department of Canterbury University for allowing me to embark on it. I would like to express m y sincere appreciation for the support, advice and encouragement given to me by my supervisor Professor Katie Pickles. I would also mention Dr Jane Buckingham and Professor Philippa Mein - Smith who also provided input. As this thesis was undertaken extram urally I relied heavily on the assistance and goodwill of librarians both at Canterbury University (especially Dave Clemens) and the Ashburton Public Library. To my friends, especially Theresa Greygoose, who listened to my airing of thoughts and ideas as I endeavoured to put some order into the mass of information I gathered. Finally to Dr Gordon Cameron, who not only spent many hours on this project with me but provided a supportive and conducive environment in which to continue on what sometimes was a dif ficult journey. Words are not enough to say how much your support and determination encouraged and enabled me to keep going. vi vii Preface This thesis is the result of an almost lifelong interest in social history. Encouraged by my grandmother, I began rese arching my family tree at the age of 10 . This saw me absorb information, not only on my family but also the history of New Zealand (especially Otago) as well as Scotland, England and Ireland. Given this interest it was perhaps unsurprising that I decide d to follow a career in Museums — obtaining a position as curator in the local Museum in Oamaru, where I assisted with the establishment of the North Otago Museum Archive. This position gave me access to a wide variety of records containing numerous inter esting , and largely untold , stories. One of the untold stories that intrigued and impacted on me was the way in which the poor and unfortunate were treated in North Otago. I read the minutes of the Waitaki Charitable Aid Board and what I considered to be sometimes harsh judgements the members made concerning the poor and needy, I compared this information with the more generous reforms of the first social security budget, the birthplace of which occurred in North Otago. After becoming the archivist at th e Ashburton Museum in 2011 and discovering that this community had different means of administrating aid, I wanted to find out why. This study therefore combines my interest in social and local history as well a body of knowledge amassed over the years through access to and working with archives from both Ashburton and North Otago. viii ix Abstract This study examines the way in which charitable aid was administered in Otago and Canterbury leading up to, and slightly beyond, the Hospitals and Charitable In stitutions Act of 1885. It utilizes a variety of sources, including archives pertaining to local authorities, organisations that administered charitable aid , and documents created to establish the two provinces under study. Otago and Canterbury administ ered charitable aid sometime s in dissimilar ways. This thesis suggests that this was because the two provinces were founded by different countries (Scotland and England respectively) that had developed their own philosophies surrounding the administration of aid. Following an expl oration of the Poor Laws of England and Scotland, the study will describe how Otago and Canterbury were founded and discuss how aid in these two provinces was influenced by the country of origin. After documenting how Otago and Canterbury administered