Notes

viii, 254 p. : ill., maps Contents: Introduction : the new land : imagined from afar, experienced at first hand -- 1. Maori environmental knowlege : an imperfectly realised resource -- 2. Settlers learning about wind, warmth and rain -- 3. Exceptional challenges : food and drought, ice and snow -- 4. Away with the old : what place for native plants and animals? -- 5. In with the new : introduced plants and grazing animals -- 6. Emerging environmental problems : erosion and decining soil fertility, pest animals and weedy plants -- 7. Opportunities to see, hear and compare : meetings, sales, competitions and exhibitions -- 8. Rural people continuing to learn about their environments -- Words about home : diaries and letters, commercial transactions, newspapers and magazines Summary: During the 19th century, New Zealand's South Island underwent an environmental transformation at the hands of European settlers. They diverted streams and drained marshes, burned native vegetation and planted hedges and grasses, stocked farms with sheep and cattle and poured on fertilizer. Through various letter books, ledgers, diaries, and journals, this book reveals how the first European settlers learned about their new environment: talking to Maori and other Pakeha, observing weather patterns and the shifting populations of rabbits, reading newspapers, and going to lectures at the Mechanics' Institute. As the New Zealand environment threw up surprise after surprise, the settlers who succeeded in farming were those who listened closely to the environment. This rich and detailed contribution to environmental history and the literature of British colonial history and farming concludes - contrary to the assertions of some North American environmental historians - that the first generation of European settlers in New Zealand were by no means unthinking agents of change. (Publisher)