Story: Visitors’ opinions about New Zealand

Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Visit to New Zealand

Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Visit to New Zealand

English couple Beatrice and Sidney Webb were leading members of the Fabian Society. In the mid-1890s they published books on the history of trade unionism and industrial democracy, and founded the London School of Economics and Political Science. Seeking a break, they travelled to the United States, New Zealand and Australia in 1898. While in New Zealand they both kept diaries, and this book based on the diaries was published in 1959. The Webbs were impressed by the Liberal government's reforms but found New Zealand lacking in literary culture.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: Beatrice Webb, Visit to New Zealand in 1898: Beatrice Webb’s diary with entries by Sidney Webb. Wellington: Price Milburn, 1959.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Visitors’ opinions about New Zealand - ‘Social laboratory of the world’, 1890–1920', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/object/37109/beatrice-and-sidney-webb-visit-to-new-zealand (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 20 Jun 2012