IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND

1840 - 1854 excluding the New Zealand Company

In 1840 New Zealand was annexed to the British Crown and became part of the Colonial Empire. One of the great needs of a new colony is population - working people who will open up and develop the land to provide sufficient food. When an almost empty colony in a temperate zone is taken over by an over-crowded mother country it is inevitable that many people in both countries will turn their attention to the transporting of under paid and unemployed workers of the old country to take advantage of the opportunities in a new country.

It is not surprising, therefore, to find a considerable variety of schemes for the colonisation of New Zealand. Government schemes produced both by the Governments of England and New Zealand; Capitalists interested in colonisation for its own sake and also as a business venture (e.g. The New Zealand Co. and the Manukau Co.) and benefactors interested in relieving the suffering of various classes in England. The New Zealand Co. immigration schemes are important enough to be treated as a separate section.