NATIONAL GROUPS

The people of New Zealand are drawn from several races, Pakeha and Maori, European, and Asiatic. All have come across the sea to make their home in New Zealand. It is almost impossible, however, to give an accurate statistical analysis of the number of any one race which has come to New Zealand. No figures exist showing the numbers of the various races; indeed, the only ones of value are those showing the birthplaces of the population and they are not wholly reliable for the purpose. Moreover, after five or six generations in the case of the European, intermarriage has so blended the elements that a new race, rather than a group of races, is being produced.

From figures taken from the 1961 census we find that 91·7 per cent of the population were of European descent; 4·3 per cent, full-blooded Maoris; 2·6 per cent, various Maori-European crosses; and 1·3 per cent, other races or non-European crosses. Over 94 per cent are either European or have some European blood in them, while 8·3 per cent (at least) are Maori or have some Maori blood. There are difficulties in analysing the European population into the races comprising it and it is necessary to make estimates. At the census of 1858, 37·5 per cent of the European population were New Zealand born, nearly 40 per cent were born in England or Wales, 13·5 per cent in Scotland, 7·7 per cent in Ireland, and 2·4 per cent in Australia. In 1861 the percentages were 34, New Zealand; 36·5, England; 15·7, Scotland; 8·9, Ireland; and 2·61, Australia. In 1878, when the colony had a population of 414,000, 42 per cent were New Zealand born, 26 per cent English, 11·6 per cent Scots, and nearly 11 per cent Irish, while the Australians were approximately 4 per cent. A similar breakdown in 1901 gives 66·8 per cent New Zealand born, 14·7 per cent English, 6·2 per cent Scots, and 5·6 per cent Irish, while 3·5 per cent were Australian born.

If it can be taken that the New Zealand and Australian born had parents of the various races in approximately the same rates as the remainder of the population (not necessarily true), they can be ignored. Apart from the Maoris, in 1858 roughly 60 per cent were English, 20 per cent Scots, and 11 per cent Irish; the remaining 9 per cent were not known, were born at sea, or were foreign born. Twenty years later, in 1878, on the same basis, 50 per cent were English, 22 per cent Scots, and 20 per cent Irish; while in 1901 the percentages were English, 51; Scots, 21; and Irish, 19. In 1936, other than Australians, 56 per cent of the overseas born were English, 22 per cent Scots, and 10 per cent Irish. Although there have been some changes in the figures, they are sufficiently consistent to show that slightly more than half of the European population is English; somewhat less than a quarter Scots; and slightly less than a fifth, Irish. Less than one in 10 is of non-British stock. Of course the strains have not remained pure and very much more than a half will have English blood in them, and so with all the other races.

English

The English are the most numerous of those making up the New Zealand race. Historically, they were first in the field. Captain Cook and most of his crew were, of course, English, and the first European to settle was an Englishman. George Bruce, a marine surveyor from New South Wales who came to New Zealand in 1806 and lived under the protection of Te Pehi, whose daughter he married. The English brought Christianity to New Zealand. In 1814 Samuel Marsden sent William Hall, a shipwright from Hull, and John King, expert in rope making, to establish a mission station at the Bay of Islands, where others, mostly English, joined them. Indeed, in the years before organised settlement, the English carried out most of the pioneering work. Englishmen also took the initiative in organised settlement. The New Zealand Company was primarily an English concern which, in its early years, pioneered three settlements. With the exception of one ship from the Clyde and another from Plymouth, Wellington was settled mainly from the southern counties of England. Nelson settlers came from much the same area while the New Plymouth Association colonised Taranaki with settlers from Devon and Cornwall. Canterbury was settled by the Church of England Association, which followed the lead of the Free Church of Scotland with the Otago scheme.

The object in establishing these settlements was more than the promotion of emigration. It was a desire to transplant to New Zealand an epitome of English society, with its various gradations in due proportion, carrying with it English laws, customs, associations, habits, and manners, as well as the English political and economic systems. In short, everything would be English except the land – and the climate – and in due time it was hoped that New Zealand would mirror the social system and national character of the mother country. There can be no doubt that in this respect the English failed. Essentially, the aim of the settlers who came to New Zealand was to better themselves. The wealthy certainly tried to reproduce the economic and social system they had known; indeed they often succeeded, but at the expense of their capital. The so-called “labouring classes” had the advantage in the fluid condition of the new settlements. Their needs were fewer, their initiative was often greater, and the gaps between the classes narrowed. Thus the main condition of stability was lacking and labourers were always striving to become landowners. Even J. R. Godley admitted he had had exaggerated hopes, for what had taken centuries to build in England could not be duplicated in New Zealand in a matter of months.

The last organised settlements in New Zealand were at Feilding (the Emigrants' and Colonists' Aid Corporation, c. 1874, represented by the Hon. Colonel Feilding) and at Te Aroha, Thames district, in 1880, by a body of Lincolnshire farmers.

Today New Zealand has characteristics of its own, but it is still basically an English country, for the English strain is the largest and most important. The English have rarely found it necessary to organise and assert their race. The Royal Society of St. George celebrates St. George's Day (23 April) with a dinner and toast to England. A few of the counties have or have had their associations supported by emigrants from Devon and Cornwall, Lancashire and Yorkshire, Northumberland and Durham, and Kent.

Scots

New Zealand at first seems, like New South Wales, to have been principally an English colony, but that does not mean that Scots were not present. Vancouver had in his ship's company a Scots naturalist, Dr Menzies, who collected lichens at Dusky Sound. Gilbert Mair, from Peterhead, arrived at the Bay of Islands in 1824 and was probably the first Scotsman to settle in this country. A year or so later four Scots remained at Hokianga, the sole settlers from the First New Zealand Company. The first organised attempt to settle Scots in New Zealand was that of the New Zealand, Manukau, and Waitemata Company, a body with little claim to fame. The first settler on the Waitemata was, however, a Scot, Dr (later, Sir) John Logan Campbell.

In the first eight years of its colonising activities, the New Zealand Company, which had been reconstituted in 1839, sent out 76 ships. Of these, only three sailed from the Clyde. Among the Scottish pioneers was the Rev. John Macfarlane, the first Scots minister in Wellington, who, in February 1840, conducted his first service on the banks of the Hutt, at the short-lived settlement of Britannia. The difficulty in obtaining a clear title to their land in the north caused many of the Scots to move to the South Island, where they joined the Deans brothers, who had pioneered a settlement on the Canterbury Plains at Riccarton. Two Scots families also anticipated the settlement in Otago and were established there in 1845. But Scottish emigration moved slowly. The Scot is noted for his caution and it is probable that for this reason he preferred to see how others fared before committing himself to any New Zealand venture. He is also more suspicious of cooperative concerns than the English and, while as an individual he might undertake certain activities, he is more careful when others are responsible. Between 1839 and 1842, 400,000 emigrants left the British Isles. Of these 8,000 came to New Zealand, but only 500 were Scots. There was little real interest in emigration in Scotland in the early forties and considerable doubts and difficulties had to be overcome before the Otago Association in November 1847 was able to send out the first two ships with nearly 250 colonists to New Zealand. And one of these vessels, the John Wickliffe, sailed from London with a considerable group of English emigrants.

Otago remained predominantly Scottish until 1861, when the discovery of gold caused an influx which made them a minority. The miners had their influence on the Scots, but the Scots probably influenced them more. They did this largely through the education system which they established. It was a reasonably democratic system, open to all capable of benefiting from its high standards, and it provided not only elementary but also secondary and university education. When the provincial educational systems were replaced by a colonial scheme, Otago provided the basis for the new system.

In New Zealand the Scots proved good colonists loyal to their religion and devoted to education, though on occasions their outlook, particularly in politics, was rather narrow. Drawn principally from the poorer classes, they were prepared to succeed by their own efforts. Scotland did not have the sharp class distinctions of England and the settlers generally regarded individual worth rather than birth or upbringing as the standard of community respect. When with wealth coming from gold and from its own efforts Otago became New Zealand's leading and most prosperous province, its community standards were regarded as a model for New Zealand. Certainly they were so regarded by those of the working classes who by their efforts were breaking in new land or otherwise improving their station. By 1861 there were nearly 31,000 of Scottish birth in the colony; 17 years later the number was nearly 48,000. During the seventies Vogel's assisted immigration scheme brought over 13,000, exceeded only by the English and Irish. Scots were popular throughout New Zealand and most provinces tried to attract them. Canterbury, Nelson, and of course, Southland, which had the largest proportion of Scots, had their quota. Hawke's Bay contracted for 100 Highland families to be settled on the Ruataniwha Plains, but the scheme was only partly completed.

The most romantic Scots migration was that led by Norman McLeod, which ended at Waipu in North Auckland. These Highlanders emigrated first of all to Nova Scotia. After 30 years, however, a few emigrated in the 1850s to South Australia and then on to New Zealand, where others joined them.

Many of the Scots coming to New Zealand followed the traditional trade of engineering, but during the second half of the century the Scots had a virtual monopoly of shepherding, in particular, the management of high-country sheep. In high-country mustering camps at this time a good proportion spoke the Gaelic and it was the Highlanders' knowledge both of sheep and of hillcraft which so ably assisted in the development of the industry. In this field they had the great advantage of the Scotch collies and their ability to train working dogs.

For all their legendary carefulness the Scots and their descendants have been generous public benefactors and the names of Sir John Logan Campbell and Sir John McKenzie, to give but two, are worthy of mention. Names distinguished in the political field include James Macandrew, Donald Reid, and Sir Donald McLean. Robert Stout became Premier and Chief Justice, and Peter Fraser became Prime Minister.

Apart from a faint burr in accent, which distinguishes the speech of much of South Otago and Southland from the rest of New Zealand, there are few outward signs of Scotland in New Zealand. On Burns's and St. Andrew's days, many New Zealanders, some with very little Scots blood in them, celebrate, while a surprising number answer to the names “Mac” or “Jock”. The Army has a Scottish regiment, while pipe bands in traditional Highland dress are both popular and well supported throughout the country. Caledonian societies still exist and at intervals hold Highland games and sports.

Irish

The early years of New Zealand settlement were times of strife and hunger in Ireland and many of her people were forced to emigrate. A number of Irish convicts were shipped to Australia and from that place some found their way to New Zealand and other Pacific islands. Thomas Poynton settled on the Hokianga in 1829, where he traded in timber. His wife took their first child to Sydney to be baptised by a priest. Lieutenant Thomas McDonnell, a naval officer from County Antrim, purchased in 1831 the brig Sir George Murray, built at Horeke, and used it to transport his family to the shipyard, which he had also bought. Bishop Pompallier was welcomed to New Zealand by the Irish Catholics, who by this time were to be found all round the coasts. Of the first 3,500 settlers at Port Nicholson (Wellington), 250 were Roman Catholics, not all of whom were Irish, with Father O'Reilly as their priest. Auckland was, during the forties, a very cosmopolitan community and, of the 3,000 settled there, 400 were Irish Catholics from Australia.

During the hungry forties the distress in Ireland was great and several commissions considered remedies, including the possibility of emigration to New Zealand. Nothing came of this and, almost in panic, Irish emigrated in thousands to the United States. Some, however, came to New South Wales and thence to New Zealand; only a few came direct. The gold discoveries of the sixties brought Irish miners who had followed the metal through California and Victoria to the end of the road in New Zealand, where they settled. Kingston and Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, are Irish landmarks.

Prior to 1870 little attempt was made by the provinces to obtain Irish immigrants, and even during the seventies, in the early years of Vogel's search for population, few came to the colony. In all, however, 19,300 of the 84,000 who came to New Zealand under the scheme were Irish, second only to the English. Many were labourers brought to work as navvies by Brogdens, while others came in the largest Irish organised migration, the settlement of Katikati by George Vesey Stewart and his fellow Orangemen. Irish have continued to come to New Zealand in considerable numbers, but in a smaller proportion. The Irish influence on New Zealand has been great, but it has usually been exercised through personalities rather than collectively. Here the Roman Catholic Church, supported chiefly by the Irish, must be excluded, for as a body it has had considerable influence on New Zealand life.

Irish, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, have been attracted to politics. John Ballance, who led the first Liberal Government, was an Ulsterman from County Antrim, and William Ferguson Massey, the Reform Prime Minister, also came from County Derry in the north. Several born in England or Scotland of Irish parents were educated in Ireland and made their name in politics, particularly in the early years. FitzGerald Stafford, and Bowen are amongst them.

It is difficult to distinguish the numbers of the two groups of Irish who came to New Zealand. Probably the Southern Irish were in a majority. In New Zealand the Southern Irish are in a few small ways less assimilated than, for example, the Scandinavians. They have retained their identity through their church and its schools much more than some other groups. They have their own friendly society, the Hibernian, which today has happier relations with its Ulster rival, the Loyal Orange Lodge, than was once the case. The Irishman is, however, basically a New Zealander and partakes in every activity, adding his Celtic language, thought, and customs to those less colourful but of English origin.

Australians

If the Australians are regarded as a separate race and not a group of English, Scots, and Irish, then they, too, have played quite an important part in the New Zealand story. Australia is New Zealand's nearest neighbour and for years New Zealand has provided another frontier where the Australian with experience could profit from his skills. At first Australia was the civilised outpost and New Zealand the home of cannibals. Ships from Australia came to the islands whaling and sealing and to obtain timber, masts and spars. When settlement seemed likely, Australians obtained large tracts of land in anticipation. When sovereignty was established in 1840 they brought their skills and demonstrated them successfully before settlers who often knew only English ways, which were not always best suited to the New Zealand climate. In time gold proved an attraction and brought thousands from Australia to these shores. In addition New Zealand has, from convict days, provided a refuge, often temporary, for those wanted by the police in Australia.

When in the late years of last century and the early years of the twentieth the North Island was being opened up, Australians vied with South Islanders for the land. Even now, when New Zealand has insufficient land to satisfy its own land hunger, it still has an attraction for Australians. Today, however, they come as representatives of Australian firms extending their interests in New Zealand. Australia has also provided New Zealand with many of its political leaders. In the early days some of our legislators had had experience in Australian Parliaments, but two Prime Ministers, Sir Joseph Ward and M. J. Savage, were Australian born. Early in this century the Labour movement received much of its strength from Australia, and this was reflected in the large number of Australians in the first Labour Cabinet.

In 1861, 9,533, or 2·6 per cent of the European population, were Australian by birth. In the 1878 census the number reached 16,091 and continued to increase to a maximum in 1911, when 5·03 per cent of the European population were Australian by birth. In 1961 there were still 35,412 Australian born living in New Zealand.

French

Few French have settled in New Zealand, yet they have played a not unimportant part in its history. De Surville was in New Zealand waters in 1769 before Cook left, while in the next 60 years four French expeditions visited the islands. French whalers were active round the coasts and French names of many coastal features record their activities. A Frenchman, Baron Charles de Thierry, arrived in Hokianga in 1835 to establish a kingdom in New Zealand, and indirectly assisted Busby, the British Resident, to establish the New Zealand Confederacy. France was responsible for sending the first Roman Catholic missionaries. Bishop Pompallier, with a bodyguard of French priests, arrived at the Hokianga in January 1838. French interest in the Church in New Zealand continued throughout last century. Maori prayer books were printed in France, and for some time French priests were second only to the Irish. One of the outstanding women of New Zealand, Mother Mary Aubert, was of French birth.

The purchase of land in Banks Peninsula by French whalers led to the attempt of the Nanto Bordelaise Co. to establish a colony at Akaroa, and 57 French were sent out. The fact that New Zealand had been annexed by the British prevented the dispatch of further colonists, but most of those already in New Zealand remained and became naturalised British subjects. No other scheme for organised French settlement was considered and, even in the flood of assisted immigration in the seventies, only 275, less in number than the Italians, were brought to the colony. It is probable that a few came to seek gold, but the number, 505, who were of French birth in 1861 reached only 737 in 1878, its maximum at any time.

Throughout New Zealand interest in France and French culture has always been great, helped by the fact that during the First World War New Zealand soldiers fought in Northern France and Belgium. Of all foreign languages, French is the one most commonly taught in secondary schools and universities and, though many studying it learn little more than the names of common objects, French literary clubs and circles are common.

Germans

After the British elements, the Germans provided the largest increment to New Zealand's population in the nineteenth century, larger than that of any other European country. They took little part in discovery and exploration, but in 1839 George Hempleman bought a large area in Banks Peninsula and took his wife there to live. He was joined by a small party who had arrived with the French settlers at Akaroa and settled at what became known as German Bay, now Takamatua.

When the New Zealand Company met difficulty in obtaining sufficient emigrants, they turned to Germany, in particular to Hamburg. The Chatham Islands were suggested as a suitable spot, but the British Government decided that the company had no right to purchase land there. Eventually the interest of the North German (Lutheran) Mission Society was gained and some 340, mainly from Hamburg and Mecklenberg, and including six missionaries, were sent in two ships to Nelson. Maori troubles and the general conditions of settlement caused the majority to go to South Australia, but about a hundred settled in the Moutere Valley, where their descendants still farm.

Immediately prior to the Maori Wars a scheme of military settlements was suggested and two German villages were planned. War broke out, however, and as the German State Government objected to recruitment nothing came of the project. There were some difficulties again in the seventies, but, despite this, 3,000 came to New Zealand as assisted immigrants under Vogel's scheme, nearly as many as the total of all Scandinavians. Some were sent to the unhappy Jackson Bay settlement, but later they spread throughout the colony.

At the 1861 census the Germans by birth were 1,999. By 1878 they had grown to 4,649 but in 1901 were 4,217. It is probable that a few of the Austro-Hungarians were German in speech, as were some of the Poles and Russians. The Bohemians, for example, who during the early sixties settled at Puhoi, north of Auckland, were German in speech and probably race. When war broke out in 1914 there were about 4,000 Germans in New Zealand. Many were interned and, in 1919, several hundred were deported, so that in 1921 the number had fallen to 2,188. It was 1928 before they were again allowed to come to New Zealand, and in the years immediately preceding the last war about 900 German-speaking refugees arrived here. Today the Germans are a submerged group and absorbed into the British stock. Often the only sign of their ancestry is the surname. Indeed, during the Second World War many served in the New Zealand Forces and they have a far better record here than others who were, at least on paper, allies.

It is probable that the Germans introduced hop growing to New Zealand, but their greatest contribution has been in the scientific field. Dieffenbach, the naturalist in the Tory; von Tunzelmann, pioneer in Otago's back country; and Weber, civil engineer in Hawke's Bay, were all German. The two greatest were Ferdinand von Hochstetter, who arrived in New Zealand in 1858 with the Austrian scientific expedition in the Novara, and Julius von Haast, Canterbury provincial geologist. Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky, of the Forest Rangers, a Prussian, was one of the more colourful fighters during the Maori Wars.

Scandinavians

Included in the crew of Tasman's two ships, the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen, were the first Scandinavians to see New Zealand. Cook had Solander, a Swedish botanist, on his first voyage and named Solander Island after him, while Scandinavian whalers were among those to come to the Bay of Islands to refit. They do not seem to have been amongst the first settlers, but during the sixties a few arrived. The most outstanding was Bishop Monrad, the ex-premier of Denmark, who left his country after its defeat by Prussia in the war over Schleswig-Holstein in 1864. He came to New Zealand, accompanied by his wife and members of his family, and took up land in the Manawatu, where he roughed it clearing the bush. He left for Denmark in 1868, but his sons returned to farm at Karere.

After the passing of Vogel's Immigration and Public Works Act in 1870, the Government turned to the northern countries for migrants. The first few families were attracted to their compatriots in the Manawatu, where they helped to establish Palmerston North. Scandinavians were also in demand for those isolated settlements which several of the provincial governments had established in such places as Stewart Island and Jackson Bay. A few others went to Canterbury and Otago, but the main settlements were in the Seventy Mile Bush, stretching for that distance on the Wellington – Hawke's Bay boundary. The proposal was for a series of villages each containing from 50 to 70 families. The first parties went to Hawke's Bay in 1872 and the names of the towns of Dannevirke and Norsewood record their establishment by Danes and Norwegians. In the seventies most of the other centres in this area were Scandinavian. Mauriceville and Eketahuna (originally called Mellemskov) in the Wairarapa were settled from Wellington by Scandinavians.

Organised immigration ended in 1875 and, of the 84,000 brought in, there were 3,294 Scandinavians, 1,938 Danes, 667 Swedes, and 689 Norwegians. In 1878 there were 4,600 in the colony, about half Danes. Since that time there has been a small but steady flow of migrants from Scandinavia. At the time they formed 7 per cent of the Hawke's Bay population. The number reached a maximum in 1911, when there were 2,262 of Danish, 1,344 of Norwegian, and 1,518 of Swedish birth. In 1956 there were only 2,355 born in the Scandinavian countries living in New Zealand, most of them growing old, for of recent years there has been little new blood. Today the Scandinavians are submerged and assimilated. They look like the English and Scots; they have married them. During the First World War the Scandinavians fought alongside the English, though here it must be admitted the Danes had no love for the Germans.

The Scandinavians have played their part in the public life of New Zealand. The most outstanding of the immigrants was Judge O. J. Alpers, born in Denmark, who was unique in that, although of alien birth, he became a Judge of the Supreme Court. Johannes C. Andersen was a scholar and librarian of distinction. The Scandinavians, living as they did in the one area for many years, spoke their own language. For a brief while they had their own journal, Scandia, but today few Scandinavian clubs or societies exist. Even the Lutheran Church, the national church, seems to have lost its hold, and the 4,000 adherents today would include many Germans or people of German descent.

New Zealand's dairy industry probably gained considerably from Danish personnel and techniques, though they have taken little part in its organisation. Together with refrigeration, the Swedish separator was the making of the dairy industry, but whether its introduction came from immigrants or the manufacturer's advertising is not certain.

Italians

New Zealand has always preferred immigrants to be of British stock or, failing these, of northern European, but on one occasion at least it has assisted immigration from outside these areas. In the seventies, when Vogel and the provinces were desperate for population, the agents in Europe went south and, in all, some 300 Italians (mainly from Leghorn) were brought to New Zealand. It was an unhappy experiment, for the Italians were unable to speak or understand English; in addition many were sent to Jackson Bay, where they were given road work for which they were unsuited. The Government gave instructions to stop assistance for Italians wishing to migrate, sent a few back, and tried to forget the whole affair. The Italians were not suited to life in the bush and drifted away to the towns, some going to Australia. In 1878 there were 538 Italians, but in 1891 the number had dropped to 397.

Italian immigration since the nineties has been organised along migration chains, a system whereby Italians in New Zealand encourage other Italians to emigrate and either finance or help them. The system has the advantage of helping the immigrant, but it builds up alien communities in New Zealand. The chains have been connected with occupations the Italians have followed. Three from Southern Italy have brought in men for fishing and market gardening, two from Northern Italy for coal mining, market gardening, and dairy farming. Italians generally are not regarded as the best of immigrants. They have usually been peasants, poorly educated and superstitious. They have difficulty with the language and live in colonies, while it takes three generations to turn them into New Zealanders. This has been accentuated by the inclination of the men to return to Italy for wives and by the reluctance of the women to emigrate.

During the last war, while not strongly anti-British, the New Zealand Italians generally showed little inclination to fight for New Zealand. It is possible, however, that in part this may have been due to the attitude of New Zealanders to them. At the same time many New Zealanders serving in Italy were gaining a more favourable opinion of the people.

Italians have taken little part in the public life of New Zealand and in only two fields, terazzo work and some aspects of viticulture, have they added a little to our national culture.

Dutch

Despite the fact that it was a Dutchman who discovered New Zealand, the Dutch have taken little interest in the country. The hostile reception they received from the Maoris must have remained long in their memories, though Dutch have not often been migrants. In 1878 there were in New Zealand only 138 born in the Netherlands or its colonies, and the number remained steady around this figure until the outbreak of the Second World War. From the beginning of the war with Japan the situation began to change. Dutch refugees from what is now Indonesia came to New Zealand and they were followed by others who were regarded as surplus to the Netherlands optimum population and who were encouraged by New Zealand Government policy to settle.

In 1963 there were nearly 14,000, who had been born in the Netherlands, registered as aliens in New Zealand, though large numbers had become naturalised.