The immigrants: The great migration from Britain to New Zealand, 1830-1890

by TonySimpson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1997

  $17.67

  This general history of 19th-century immigration into New Zealand, looks first at the reasons people left Britain and why they chose New Zealand. With background information on the British economy, society and politics of the time, it discusses the schemes and incentives that encouraged them to leave and why they ended up where they did. In the two decades from 1853, in excess of four million people left the British Isles. Several hundred thousand of them found their way to New Zealand, participants in one of the great periods of migration in history. Drawing on a wealth of published and unpublished material, the book presents the human side of the story - the immigrants' usually harrowing experiences of the journey and their arrival in the new country. Finally, it examines the part immigration has played in the development of New Zealand political culture and social agendas. Why are New Zealanders so concerned about employment, owning a house and a piece of land, ensuring that children have access to education, being secure in retirement? The book should be useful to students of New Zealand history and society, as well as people who are interested by the origins of their forebears. Tony Simpson is the author of The Sugarbag Years .