The evolution of emigrant travel to New Zealand in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyses the attitudes and experiences of emigrants who voyaged from Britain and Ireland to New Zealand in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It uses shipboard diaries, correspondence, official reports, newspaper accounts and the oral testimony of emigrants to investigate whether the journey was typically an ordeal or adventure, and examines elements of continuity, change and distinctiveness in emigrants’ and officials’ narratives during more than a century of sea travel. After contextualising New Zealand’s place in the history of emigrant transportation, the key issues are scrutinised through the lens of three chronologically structured sub-themes: preparing to leave and embarking; a core section on life at sea; and a few observations on the journey’s end. Painful leave-taking was a timeless problem, as were interpersonal tensions on board, but other experiences were affected by changing technologies and a relaxation in cultural expectations. The maintenance of order and discipline characterised Victorian voyages, which were also overshadowed by fears of shipwreck, physical and mental illness, and death. By the end of the nineteenth century, technological advances were making the journey increasingly comfortable, and by the mid-twentieth century, it was generally seen as a pleasurable, responsibility-free holiday.