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By Joseph Cruden The Wairarapa Wealthy in Public and Private, 1876–1913 By Joseph Cruden A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Victoria University of Wellington 2015 Abstract Social histories of New Zealand’s colonial wealthy usually focus on those who left personal papers, ignoring those who left no major records. What is more, histories of the wealthy have tended to focus on the South Island—there is no reason to assume that the North Island rich were the same. This thesis attempts to address both these imbalances by approaching wealthy individuals in colonial Wairarapa systematically—locating all testators who died between 1876 and 1913, leaving estates worth £10,000 or more. This process produces a cohort of sixty-five, mainly farmers and mostly of middle-class origins. Testamentary records demonstrate that in private, the rich stayed true to their origins by splitting their wealth evenly. Other forms of biographical information, most notably newspaper obituaries and Cyclopedia entries, show that public life was different. Here, the rich departed from their origins; whereas community involvement and charitable works had been an important aspect of middle-class identity in Britain, the colonial experience forced wealthy capitalists to redefine public status. Throughout, this thesis demonstrates the importance of regional social histories in New Zealand by thinking ‘under as well as across the nation’—extending South Island scholarship of the wealthy into the North Island and examining the manifestation of large historical forces close-up in communities of individuals. i ii Table of Contents List of Figures..................................................................................................................... iv Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Setting ............................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Wealth Literature .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Probates as Historical Source—a Systematic Approach ........................................................................................................... 9 Overview................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter One: An Anatomy of Wairarapa Wealth ............................................................... 17 The Structure of Wealth ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 The Pastoralists ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Intensive Farmers ................................................................................................................................................................... 25 The Rest ................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Origins ................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 The Extent & Distribution of Wealth in Wairarapa ........................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter Two: ‘Matters of account between us’—Wealth and Family in the Testamentary Record ......................................................................................................... 42 The Family in the Will—Bequeathing Property, Bequeathing Values ................................................................................... 46 Widows in their Husband’s Will ........................................................................................................................................... 54 Testamentary Custom and Practice ......................................................................................................................................... 62 Bequeathing Values ............................................................................................................................................................... 68 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................................. 71 Chapter Three: ‘A keen interest’?—The Wairarapa Wealthy in Their Community .......... 73 Types of Involvement ............................................................................................................................................................... 74 Extent of Involvement ............................................................................................................................................................ 78 Pastoral Paternalism .............................................................................................................................................................. 85 Charity ................................................................................................................................................................................... 90 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................................. 98 Conclusion: Thinking Under and Across the Nation ........................................................ 99 Comparing ........................................................................................................................................................................... 100 Expanding ........................................................................................................................................................................... 102 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 105 iii List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Wairarapa ....................................................................................................... vi Figure 2: Distribution of Estate Values in New Zealand, 1893–1910 ................................ 11 Figure 3: Wealth by Age Bracket, 1912 ................................................................................... 13 Figure 4: The Wealthy Wairarapa Testators ........................................................................... 18 Figure 5: Occupational Breakdown of the Wairarapa Wealthy ........................................... 19 Figure 6: Class Origins of the Wealthy Wairarapa Testators ............................................... 34 Figure 7: The Geographic Origins of the Wealthy Wairarapa Testators ........................... 37 Figure 8: Value of Wairarapa Wealthy Testator's Estates, 1876–1913 ............................... 39 Figure 9: Value of Wairarapa Wealthy Testator’s Estates 1876–1913 without Edward Riddiford ...................................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 10: Breakdown of Wealth among Testators ............................................................... 41 Figure 11: Bequests to Daughters ............................................................................................ 53 Figure 12: Relative Size of Bequests to Sons and Daughters............................................... 53 Figure 13: Bequests to Widows ................................................................................................ 59 Figure 14: Community Involvement of Wairarapa Wealthy ................................................ 79 Figure 15: Mayors in Masterton, Carterton and Greytown, 1877–1900 ............................ 82 Figure 16: County Chairmen in Wairarapa, 1900–1910 ........................................................ 85 iv Acknowledgements I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Jim McAloon. I was first introduced to this topic during conversations in Jim’s Honours course at Victoria University in 2013. These conversations inspired me, and demonstrated that Wairarapa was a useful site for regional study. Jim’s ideas, comments and reassurances, expressed throughout Honours and during the supervision of my research were always timely and invariably considerate. I thank Jim for his vital contribution to this thesis. The History Department at Victoria University has been a friendly and welcoming work environment and has provided me with support and employment throughout. My fellow post-graduate students in particular deserve thanks for their solidarity and company throughout the year. They made an experience that was occasionally lonely and often difficult seem worthwhile.
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