The Provincial and Gold-Rush Years, 1853-70
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3. The Provincial and Gold-rush years, 1853-70 Numbers New Zealand experienced a series of major events during the period 1853-1870, which greatly affected immigration. One was the coming of limited self-government with a quasi-federal structure in 1854 and which left to provinces responsibility for encouraging immigration. They did so with a series of schemes. Another was the New Zealand Wars which brought soldiers and military settlers once more to New Zealand. Third, there were important economic developments – the growth of extensive pastoralism and the discovery of gold. Both also attracted people to these shores. The result was a dramatic expansion of New Zealand’s non-Maori population, from almost 27 000 in 1851 to almost 98 000 in 1861 and 255 000 a decade later. Net migration was a major contributor, and indeed over the period 1855-1870 contributed 70.7 per cent of the increase in New Zealand’s non-Maori population (Graph 1). Graph 1: Annual increase of non-Maori population, 1855-70 40000 35000 30000 25000 Natural increase 20000 Net migration 15000 10000 5000 0 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 year 2 Graph 2: Annual immigration to New Zealand, 1853-70 50000 45000 40000 35000 30000 Gross 25000 Net 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 year Graph 2 shows the gross and net immigration to New Zealand by year from 1853 to 1870. For the years 1853-60 the net annual inflow remained at relatively low levels, although net arrivals began to increase towards the end of the decade, in good part a reflection of the first inflow into Auckland under its land grant system, the first influx of Canterbury’s assisted immigrants, and the first gold miners, attracted by the discoveries in Nelson’s Aorere Valley. There was a dramatic change in the early 60s sparked especially by the discovery of gold in Otago and on the West Coast, but also embracing major inflows associated with Auckland’s land grant system, the inflow of assisted immigrants into Canterbury, and some who came in as a result of the New Zealand Wars. These immigrants came largely from two destinations, the United Kingdom and Australia. The Auckland and Canterbury inflows drew largely on the United Kingdom, the gold-mining inflows into Otago and on to the West Coast largely on the Australian Colonies. United Kingdom Immigrants A gross total of almost 2.9 million people of British and Irish birth left the United Kingdom over the period 1853-1870 (Graph 3). 3 Graph 3: Gross emigration from UK, 1853-70 300000 250000 200000 Gross emigrants from UK to Australasia 150000 Gross emigrants from UK to all countries 100000 50000 0 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 Year For the first decade (with the exception of 1853 and 1860), over a quarter each year departed for Australasia, the proportion in fact reaching a peak of 39.7 per cent in 1862. With the end of the American Civil War, the numbers departing from the United Kingdom rose again, but the proportion departing for Australasia declined sharply, reaching just 7.8 per cent in 1869. In most years the Irish dominated the outflow, although they formed a lower proportion of those going to Australasia than to North America. The exodus from Ireland did not reach the levels of the years of the Great Famine, and reflected less the pressure exerted by recurring harvest fluctuations (as in 1855-1857, 1858-1861, and 1864-1866), than falling passage costs, declining travel time, the attraction of higher living standards and employment opportunities in the countries of destination, and the prospect of finding an Irish marriage partner overseas.1 Behind the continued outflow also lay the failure of Irish industry to offer alternative employment opportunities, slow urban growth, and continuing changes within Irish agriculture, including evictions of small holders, a shift from tillage to pasture which reduced labour needs, the enclosure of remaining common 1 See, for example, David Fitzpatrick, ‘Emigration, 1801-1870,’ in W.E.Vaughan, editor, A new history of Ireland, V, Ireland under the union, 1, 1801-1870. Oxford, 1989, p.566; and Cormac O Grada, Ireland: a new economic history, 1780-1939. Oxford, 1994, pp.226-227. 4 land, and the rise of impartible inheritance. The post-Famine emigrants were predominantly Catholic, young, and single, while a high proportion of females distinguished the Irish outflow from other contemporary migratory movements. Most of the males were described as labourers and most of the females as domestic servants, the ‘surplus offspring farmers and rural labourers, drawn from a broad band of social strata but largely excluding both strong farmers and destitute squatters or beggars.’2 Only a small proportion of the emigrant Irish chose Australasia as their destination, most preferring the United States, Kenny suggesting that ‘The most prosperous … went to Australia and New Zealand … the least prosperous went to Britain and the vast majority went to the United States.’3 New patterns of emigration from Scotland emerged after the Highland famine of the 1840s. The numbers leaving surged during the 1860s, and, indeed, during the 1860s Scotland lost through emigration 27.5 per cent of its natural increase, the corresponding figure for the English/Welsh being just 7.2 per cent.4 During the period 1853 -1860 some 45.2 per cent of the emigrant Scots went to Australasia, but in the period 1860-June 1863, New Zealand emerged as the most preferred destination. We know this from a return kept only for the period from 1860 to June 1863 which recorded emigration from the United Kingdom. 5 The return shows that in all three years and for the first six months of 1863, New Zealand was the preferred destination, taking an astonishingly high 30.6 per cent in 1860, 27.2 per cent in 1861, 37.3 per cent in 1862, and 29.2 per cent in the first six months of 1863. Those proportions exceeded those choosing any other destination, including British North America and despite the long-established and strong migratory 2 David Fitzpatrick, ‘Emigration, 1801-1870,’ in W.E.Vaughan, editor, A new history of Ireland, V, Ireland under the union, 1, 1801-1870. Oxford, 1989, p.577. 3 Kevin Kenny, The American Irish: a history. Harlow, Essex, 2000, p.138. 4 Dudley Baines, Migration in a mature economy: emigration and internal migration in England and Wales, 1861-1900. Cambridge, 1985, p.62. 5 Emigration: return for years 1860, 1861, 1862, and first six months of 1863, BPP 1863.xxxviii.19. The estimates which follow exclude, unless otherwise indicated, a category in the return termed ‘Not distinguished,’ that is, in terms of nationality. It is worthwhile noting that those ‘not distinguished’ formed a significant proportion of the total number recorded as leaving the United Kingdom in each year, ranging from a low of 11.8 per cent of the total for the first six months of 1863 to a high of 25 per cent for 1861. For New Zealand, the proportion described as ‘not distinguished’ was much lower, ranging from a low of 4.6 per cent for the first six months of 1863 to a high of 13.3 per cent in 1861. Whether this lack of classification affected one nationality more than another is not known. 5 links between Scotland and Canada. It is worthwhile noting that the numbers of Scots- born emigrating to New Zealand, according to this return, actually exceeded the number of English born. Upon the conclusion of the American Civil War, the flow again turned towards the United States. Australia’s Scots immigrants included a substantial number assisted by the Highland and Island Emigration Society, with most arrivals favouring Victoria.6 It was from Victoria that the South Island gold-fields would draw a large proportion of their Scots miners. The emigration return revealed that the numbers choosing to go direct to New Zealand from the United Kingdom varied between 4.1 per cent of all emigrants in 1860 to 9.4 per cent in 1862. Graph 4: Percentage of all emigrants leaving UK going to New Zealand 40 35 30 25 English 20 Scots Irish Percentage 15 10 5 0 1860 1861 1862 1863 Year As Graph 4 shows New Zealand was less preferred by the English who reached a peak of 12.2 per cent of all emigrants in 1862, and even less by the Irish. In none of the three years did the numbers travelling direct from Ireland to New Zealand exceed 1600. Over the period of three and half years, the English-born formed 42.4 per cent of the total of 6 See Ian Donnachie, ‘The making of “Scots on the make:” Scottish settlement and enterprise in Australia, 1830-1900,’ in T.M.Devine, editor, Scottish emigration and Scottish society. Edinburgh, 1992; and Robin F.Baines, Emigration and the labouring poor: Australian recruitment in Britain and Ireland, 1831-60. Houndmills, 1997. 6 those emigrating directly from the United Kingdom to New Zealand, the Scots-born 44.3 per cent and the Irish-born just 13.3 per cent. Graph 5: Migration from UK to NZ, 1853-70 16000 14000 12000 10000 Gross Emigration from UK 8000 Gross Immigration to NZ from UK Net Immigration to NZ from UK 6000 4000 2000 0 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 Year Graph 5 provides annual details of gross emigration from the United Kingdom to New Zealand during the period according to the Emigration Commissioners, and gross and net immigration from the United Kingdom according to New Zealand statistics.