Pastoralism in NZ Historiography

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PASTORALISM-THE SOCIAL IMPACT THE GENTRY IN NZ? 1.Steven Eldred Grigg (1980) believes that this period saw the development of an elite, aristocratic group, the southern Gentry'. (His ancestors were amongst them) 2. Large scale runholders came to NZ with a few thousand pounds and made huge profits from wool. 3. There were 95 estates of 5000 acres or more in Nelson Marlborough, 180 in Canterbury and 225 in Otago/ Southland. The wealthy were 1% of landowners, yet they held 78% of the land. 4. They were largely upper class, English and Anglican. They tried to create a similar lifestyle in NZ to the gentry in Britain. Private education (Christ's College for example), church (the Cathedral). They built huge houses, eg. G.H. Moore's Glenmark. They hunted, had lavish parties, played croquet and drank port. They indulged in conspicuous consumption.

5. Other historians disagree. O/S says this may be true of mid/south Canterbury but NOT North Otago where owners were not all of aristocratic blood. Margaret Galt (1985) has described how the top of the NZ wealth hierarchy was equivalent to the 2nd rank of wealth in New South Wales, 3rd rank in Britain and do not even rank in the USA. 6. In ‘No Idle Rich' (2002) Jim McAloon argues that the aristocratic tradition amongst South Island pastoralists was a myth. 7. He disagrees with the term gentry because this label refers to a body of families, holding large estates, enjoying hereditary privilege and discharging duties within a recognized place in society and this gentry did not exist here. 8. Instead, the wealthy were creative businessmen who did very well for themselves because of their early arrival in NZ and hard work.

9. Alongside the stereotype of the Southern Gentry was a larger number of family farmers who were very rich. They came from small farms in Britain or came from artisan/shop-keeping backgrounds. 10. McAloon points out that 60% of the rich farmers in Canterbury and Otago came from the Lower Middle Class in Britain and only 3% came from the British Gentry. 11. Early arrival in NZ was a key to wealth. Most of those who made their fortunes were in NZ by 1865. 12. The family farmer's, who left 20,000 pounds or less (approx. $2 Million) after they died, many started small, worked hard, saved hard , used family labour and were often involved initially in agricultural services, e.g. ploughing and many were entrepreneurs supplying the miners on the West Coast

13. These people were no idle rich 13.These people were no idle rich. They were involved in innovative practices such as refrigeration and cross-breeding. They were involved in freezing works and local dairy factories. They approached farming as a business proposition. 14. The wealthy pastoralists and rich farmers were capitalists whose lives were governed by hard work, investment, profit, thrift and prudence. 15. Sentimentality and the desire to be a gentleman, where this existed at all, was secondary to the accumulation of capital- Making $$$.