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Story: Farming and the environment

North Island sheep and cattle farming

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North Island sheep and cattle farming

This picturesque scene from the early 20th century depicts established pasture on rolling hill country among bush remnants in Taranaki. Sheep and cattle graze peacefully below the substantial homestead. An enormous amount of work was involved in converting forest covered land to this state.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: D-009-025

by William Shaw Diedrich Schmidt

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

Julia Haggerty and Hugh Campbell, Farming and the environment – Expansion in the 20th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/17896/north-island-sheep-and-cattle-farming (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Julia Haggerty and Hugh Campbell, published 1 March 2009.