Story: Beef farming

Cows in a swamp

Cows in a swamp

In the early days, farming cattle was less profitable than sheep, as there was only a small market for their meat. Cattle were mostly run where sheep could not be grazed successfully, such as in swamps and bush country. This painting, probably from the 1860s, shows cattle grazing swamplands by the Hororātā River, near the Canterbury foothills.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: E-501-f-005
Watercolour by Theodore Octavius Hurt

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Robert Peden, 'Beef farming - 19th-century beef farming', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/17325/cows-in-a-swamp (accessed 3 May 2024)

Story by Robert Peden, published 24 Nov 2008