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Personal letters and the organisation of Irish migration to and from New Zealand, 1848–1925

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

Angela McCarthy
Angela McCarthy*
Affiliation:
A.H.R.B. Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen
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Extract

Between 1840 and 1914 approximately a third of a million people left Ireland for Australasia. Of this total, New Zealand received a comparatively meagre amount. For instance, when the Irish peaked in sheer numbers in New Zealand in 1886, they supplied just 51,408 of the country’s total population of half a million. Despite such low numbers in comparison with those arriving in other destinations in the Irish diaspora, investigation of the Irish in New Zealand has flourished during the last decade or so. This recent historiography, however, lacks the sustained intensity and depth of work exemplified in other regions of settlement in the diaspora from Ireland. Nevertheless, significant advances have been made in central issues such as the critical importance of kin and neighbourhood networks in the processes of relocation and adaptation from Ireland to New Zealand.

Type
Research Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 33 , Issue 131 , May 2003 , pp. 297 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 2003

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References

1 Fitzpatrick, David, Oceans of consolation: personal accounts of Irish migration to Australia (Cork, 1995), p. 6.Google Scholar

2 The main works are Akenson, Donald Harman, Half the world from home: perspectives on the Irish in New Zealand, 1860-1950 (Wellington, N.Z., 1990)Google Scholar; Davis, Richard, Irish issues in New Zealand politics, 1868-1922 (Dunedin, 1974)Google Scholar; Fraser, Lyndon (ed.), A distant shore: Irish migration and New Zealand settlement (Otago, 2000)Google Scholar; idem, To Tara via Holyhead: Irish Catholic immigrants in nineteenth-century Christchurch (Auckland, 1997); O’Farrell, Patrick, Vanished kingdoms: Irish in Australia and New Zealand: a personal excursion (Kensington, N.S.W., 1990)Google Scholar; Patterson, Brad (ed.), The Irish in New Zealand: historical contexts and perspectives (Wellington, N.Z., 2002).Google Scholar

3 For up-to-date bibliographies of the Irish in the United States and Britain see Kenny, Kevin, The American Irish: a history (Harlow, 2000)Google Scholar; MacRaild, Donald M., Irish migrants in modern Britain, 1750-1922 (Basingstoke, 1999).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 See especially the following articles in Fraser (ed.), A distant shore: Terry Hearn, ‘Irish migration to New Zealand to 1915’ (pp 55-74); idem, ‘The Irish on the Otago goldfields, 1861-71’ (pp 75-85); Lyndon Fraser, ‘Irish migration to the west coast, 1864-1900’ (pp 86-104); Angela McCarthy, ‘“In prospect of a happier future”: private letters and Irish women’s migration to New Zealand, 1840-1925’ (pp 105-16). See also Fraser, Lyndon, ‘Irish migration to the west coast, 1864-1900’ in New Zealand Journal of History, xxxiv (2000), pp 197-225Google Scholar; idem, To Tara via Holyhead;O’Farrell, Vanished kingdoms; Brosnahan, Séan G., The Kerrytown Brosnahans (Timaru, N.Z., 1992)Google Scholar; McCarthy, Angela, ‘“Seas may divide”: Irish migration to New Zealand as portrayed in personal correspondence, 1840-1937’ (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, 2 vols, Trinity College Dublin, 2000).Google Scholar

5 See especially work by Lyndon Fraser and Terry Hearn.

6 Akenson, Half the world from home, p. 202.

7 Fitzpatrick, David, ‘“An ocean of consolation”: letters and Irish immigration to Australasia’ in Richards, Eric, Reid, Richard and Fitzpatrick, David (eds), Visible immigrants: neglected sources for the history of Australian immigration (Canberra, 1989), p. 74.Google Scholar

8 In the 1861 Census of Ireland, County Antrim’s Protestant population was 75.2 per cent, while that of County Down was 67.5 per cent (Vaughan, W. E. and Fitzpatrick, A. J. (eds), Irish historical statistics: population, 1821-1971 (Dublin, 1978), p. 52).Google Scholar

9 See Akenson, Half the world from home, pp 70-71, Table 22. Presumably this understates the number from other regions who travelled through British ports.

10 See especially work by Lyndon Fraser and Terry Hearn.

11 Fitzpatrick, David, Irish emigration, 1801-1921 (Dundalk, 1984), p. 30.Google Scholar

12 The following figures are drawn from Fitzpatrick, , Irish emigration, 1801-1921Google Scholar; idem, ‘Irish emigration in the later nineteenth century’ in I.H.S., xxii, no. 86 (Sept. 1980), pp 126-43; idem, ‘Emigration, 1801-70’ in New hist. Ire., v, 562-616; idem, ‘Emigration, 1871-1921’, ibid., vi, 606-42.

13 Baines, Dudley, Emigration from Europe, 1815-1930 (Basingstoke, 1991), p. 7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

14 Ibid., p.l0, Table3.

15 Fitzpatrick, Irish emigration, 1801-1921, p. 7.

16 Idem, ‘Irish emigration in the later nineteenth century’.

17 Ibid., pp 129-33.

18 See Akenson, Half the world from home, p. 22, Table 5.,

19 Derived from the annual migration returns found in the Appendices to the journals of the House of Representatives (henceforth cited as A.J.H.R.).

20 Akenson, Half the world from home, p. 21.

21 See Fraser, ‘Irish migration to the west coast’, pp 197-225; Hearn, ‘Irish on the Otago goldfields’, p. 84.

22 The brothers were recorded as Pat and ‘John’, labourers of twenty-four and twenty-one years of age respectively (P.R.O. Laverton, unassisted passengers to Victoria, fiche 130). I am grateful to Professor David Fitzpatrick for this information.

23 See Borrie, W. D., Immigration to New Zealand, 1854-1938 (Canberra, 1991)Google Scholar for details of these various schemes.

24 Robert Greer, Newry, to Johann Heldt, County Londonderry, 10 Nov. 1858 (P.R.O.N.I., T/3034/11A). All extracts that follow from collections held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland are reproduced by permission of the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Northern Ireland.

25 Procedures for issue of land certificates, 5 July 1859 (ibid., T/3034/14).

26 National Archives, Auckland (henceforth N.A.A.), register of assisted immigrants (Repro 4711/448), 68/64.

27 William Lysaght, County Limerick, to his brother Edward, Auckland, 16 Apr. 1866. The Lysaght series was kindly supplied by Reg Brown. I am grateful to Professor David Fitzpatrick for bringing this collection to my attention.

28 N.A.A., register of assisted immigrants (Repro 4711/448), 68/64. Of 369 applications sent from New Zealand between 1859 and 1864, 133 (36 per cent) were directed to Ireland.

29 See Fraser, ‘Irish migration to the west coast’, p. 212; idem, To Tara via Holyhead, p. 47.

30 Idem, To Tara via Holyhead, p. 37.

31 Ibid., p.44.

32 N.A.A. register of assisted immigrants (Repro 4711/448), 68/64; Fraser, ‘Irish migration to the west coast’, p. 212.

33 For instance, if £1 in cash was paid, then the promissory note was for £8. If £4 was paid, then the promissory note was for £2.

34 For details of this scheme see Morris, John, ‘The assisted immigrants to New Zealand, 1871-79: a statistical study’ (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Auckland, 1973).Google Scholar

35 Maurice Keane, County Waterford, to his sister Mary Anne Keane, Wellington, 24 Feb. 1886. The Keane letters were kindly supplied by Gary Walsh.

36 John Keane, County Waterford, to his sister Mary Anne Keane, Wellington, 8 Mar. 1886.

37 McCullough’s and Young’s grants are noted in National Archives, Wellington, IM 17/1, p. 20.

38 For details of the settlement see Akenson, Half the world from home, pp 123-58. An earlier, less well known ‘plantation’, as part of the Waikato Immigration Scheme, involved the settlement of approximately 1,500 Irish migrants near Pukekohe, south of Auckland. For details see Alasdair Galbraith, ‘A forgotten plantation: the Irish in Pukekohe, 1865-1900’ in Patterson (ed.), Irish in New Zealand, pp 117-30.

39 John Gilmore, Tauranga, to his parents, County Down, 16 Sept. 1876 (P.R.O.N.I., T/1611/2).

40 John Gilmore, Tauranga, to his brother, County Down, 3 Apr. 1877. All letters in the Gilmore sequence not attributed to P.R.O.N.I. were kindly supplied by Alice Gemming.

41 Andrew Gilmore, Tauranga, to his family, County Down, 16 July 1878 (P.R.O.N.I., T71611/3).

42 These ships were the Lady Jocelyn and the Oxford in 1880, the May Queen in 1881, the Northumberland in 1883, and the Northumberland and the Lady Jocelyn in 1884.

43 Alasdair Galbraith, ‘The invisible Irish? Re-discovering the Irish Protestant tradition in colonial New Zealand’ in Fraser (ed.), A distant shore, p. 42.

44 Ibid., p. 45.

45 Local agents appointed by the agent general (A.J.H.R., 1873, D-2, p. 18).

46 Two reports about emigration advertisements to New Zealand in Irish newspapers reflect this Ulster bias. The first report, listing fifteen newspapers, shows that all were confined to Ulster (ibid., p. 6). The second report reveals that of seventeen newspapers, fourteen were based in Ulster (ibid., pp 19-20).

47 H.W. Farnall to the agent general, 1 Oct. 1872 (ibid., D2-D, p. 11).

48 Memorandum no. 29,1873, for the agent general, London (ibid., D-l, p. 48).

49 Memorandum no. 167,1873, for the agent general, London (ibid., D-1A, p. 12).

50 Vogel to the agent general, 11 Feb. 1874 (ibid., 1874, D-l, p. 21).

51 See especially Bohan, Edmund, ‘“A recollection of the unfortunate failings of my own countrymen”: the Irish in New Zealand politics, 1860-1880’ in Patterson, (ed.), Irish in New Zealand, pp 53–65.Google Scholar

52 H. W. Farnall to the agent general, 1 Oct. 1872 (A.J.H.R., 1873, D2-D).

53 Agent general to Minister for Immigration, 13 Jan. 1874 (ibid., 1874, D-3, no. 40, p. 30).

54 These ships were the Asia, Caroline, Carrick Castle, Queen of Nations, Dover Castle, Carisbrooke Castle, Conflict and Lady Jocelyn.

55 For further elucidation of this see McCarthy, Angela, ‘“How different it is from home”: comparisons between New Zealand and Ireland as reflected in personal letters’ in Patterson, (ed.), Irish in New Zealand, pp 35–51.Google Scholar

56 Samuel Gilmer, Wellington, to his brother William, County Monaghan, 29 June 1886. The Gilmer letters were kindly supplied by Juann Ryan.

57 Andrew Gilmore, Tauranga, to his family, County Down, 24 Mar. 1881 (P.R.O.N.I., T/1611/5).

58 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 26 Aug. 1875. The Mcllrath letters were kindly supplied by Jenny Langford. Her transcripts of the letters are in Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, MS-Papers-5061.

59 Annie Dempsey, Canterbury, to her sister Eliza Burke, County Carlow, 6 Jan. 1891. The Dempsey letters were kindly supplied by Noeline Lavin and Michael O’Brien.

60 Margaret Kilpatrick, Auckland, to her brother Thomas Reid, Armagh city, 25 Nov. 1862 (P.R.O.N.I., D/3014/3/3/l).

61 Ibid.

62 Fitzpatrick, Oceans of consolation, p. 520.

63 James O’Neill, Auckland, to his brother Thomas, Limerick city, 30 Nov. 1863. The O’Neill letter was kindly supplied by Peter O’Sullivan.

64 Agnes Lambert, Auckland, to her sister Susan Jenkins, County Antrim, 16 Jan. 1877. The Lambert letters were kindly supplied by Beverley Baird.

65 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 8 Sept. 1862.

66 Hamilton Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his brother William, County Down, 15 July 1878.

67 Hamilton Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his brother William, County Down, 2 May 1886.

68 O1iver McSparron, Otago, to his father Archibald, County Londonderry, c. 28 Apr. 1868 (P.R.O.N.I., T/2743/2/2).

69 David McCullough, Otago, to his family, County Down, 21 Dec. 1875. The McCullough letters were kindly supplied by Sandra Gilpin.

70 Margaret Anne Kilpatrick, Auckland, to her brother Thomas Reid, Armagh city, 25 Nov. 1862 (P.R.O.N.I., D/3014/3/3/1).

71 Agnes Lambert, Auckland, to her sister Susan Jenkins, County Antrim, 16 Jan. 1877.

72 Catherine Sullivan, Manawatu, to her brother-in-law Tom Sullivan, County Limerick, 7 Mar. 1905. The Sullivan letter was kindly supplied by Catherine Habes.

73 David Bell, Otago, to his brother, County Antrim, Nov. 1886. The Bell letter was kindly supplied by Tom Bell.

74 Philip Carroll, R.M.S. Arawa, to his wife, Auckland, 19 Apr. 1925. The Carroll letters were kindly supplied by Br. Philip Carroll.

75 Alice Gilmore, Auckland, to her brother and sister, County Down, [1876].

76 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 12 Mar. 1866, 10 Jan. 1868.

77 William Cardwell, Christchurch, to his siblings, County Down, 24 Apr. 1879 (P.R.O.N.I., T/1698/l).

78 Bridget Dawson, Wanganui, to her sister Ellen Quinn, County Armagh, 30 July 1924. The Dawson letter was kindly supplied by Joan Leonard.

79 A.J.H.R., 1874, D-3, p.34.

80 james Mcllrath, Liverpool, to his family, County Down, 4 Dec. 1860.

81 Ibid.

82 Gordon McClure, London, to his sisters, Belfast, c. July 1860 (P.R.O.N.I., D/1746/3/4).

83 James McClure, London, to his sisters, Belfast, 24 June 1860 (ibid., D/1746/5/1).

84 Andrew Gilmore, Belfast, to his brother Robert, County Down, [1874]. Actually, 347 passengers (332 Irish) sailed on the Queen of Nations, one of four ships that sailed direct from Belfast to New Zealand between 1874 and 1875.

85 John Gilmore, Gravesend, to his parents, County Down, 11 Feb. 1876.

86 George Newman, County Cork, to his son John Litchfield Newman, New Plymouth, 13 July 1848. The Newman letters were kindly supplied by Margaret Shegedin.

87 David McCullough, London, to his aunt, County Down, 12 Jan. 1875.

88 Duke of Abercorn to Robert McKelvey, 17 Jan. 1902 (P.R.O.N.I., D/1692/3/5).

89 Testimonial for Johann A. Heldt, 28 May 1859 (ibid., T/3034/12).

90 Fitzpatrick, Oceans of consolation, p. 526.

91 O’Farrell, Patrick, Letters from Irish Australia, 1825-1929 (Kensington, N.S.W., 1984), p. 28.Google Scholar

92 David McCullough, Dunedin, to his family, County Down, 4 June 1875.

93 Alice Gilmore, Auckland, to her brother and sister, County Down, [1876].

94 John Gilmore, Gravesend, to his parents, County Down, 11 Feb. 1876.

95 Alice Gilmore, Auckland, to her brother and sister, County Down, [1876].

96 Ibid.

97 See Macdonald, Charlotte, A woman of good character: single women as immigrant settlers in nineteenth-century New Zealand (Wellington, N.Z., 1990), pp 73–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

98 James Mcllrath, Port Phillip, to his family, County Down, 15 Mar. 1861.

99 Hassam, Andrew, No privacy for writing: shipboard diaries, 1852-1879 (Melbourne, 1995), p. xxi.Google Scholar

100 Alice Gilmore, Auckland, to her brother and sister, County Down, [1876].

101 O’Farrell, Letters from Irish Australia, p. 28.

102 Ibid., p.l9.

103 Hastings, David, ‘The voyage out: a study in power and knowledge, 1870-1885’ (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Auckland, 1998), pp 89–90.Google Scholar

104 On the difference between the two genres see Hassam, No privacy for writing, p. xv.

105 A transcript of James Qualtrough’s diary is reproduced in Barlow, Elizabeth A., A quota of Qualtroughs: early settlers to New Zealand from the Isle of Man (Matamata, N.Z., 1984), pp 31–40.Google Scholar

106 Belich, James, Making peoples: a history of the New Zealanders from Polynesian settlement to the end of the nineteenth century (Auckland, 1996), p. 287.Google Scholar

107 Immigration statement by the Minister for Immigration (A.J.H.R., 1875, D-8, p. 3).

108 See ibid., and extract from the report of the registrar general of England (ibid., 1872, D-No. IB, enclosure in no. 8, p. 7).

109 For an overview of return migration from North America to Europe see Wyman, Mark, Round-trip to America: the immigrants return to Europe, 1880-1930 (Ithaca, N.Y., 1996).Google Scholar

110 Fitzpatrick, Irish emigration, 1801-1921, p. 7.

111 Baines, Emigration from Europe, p. 39.

112 Schrier, Arnold, Ireland and the American emigration, 1850-1900 (Minnesota, 1958), pp 130-31.Google Scholar

113 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 21 Dec. 1872.

114 A. Burns, Reefton, to Michael Flanagan, California, 8 June 1890. The Flanagan letters were kindly supplied by Donald Murphy. I am grateful to Professor David Fitzpatrick for bringing this collection to my attention.

115 Martin Strong, County Tipperary, to his cousin Daniel Strong, Auckland, 14 Sept. 1895. The Strong letters were kindly supplied by Ginny Dow.

116 William Lysaght, County Limerick, to his brother Edward, Auckland, 19 Dec. 1869.

117 Catherine Colgan, County Antrim, to her daughter Rose Gamble, Otago, 19 Feb. 1901. The Colgan letters were kindly supplied by Richard Herbert.

118 Catherine Colgan, County Antrim, to her daughter Rose Gamble, Otago, 6 Feb. 1899.

119 David McCullough, Waimangaroa, to his parents, County Down, 2 July 1899.

120 Oliver McSparron, Dunedin, to his father Archibald, County Londonderry, 18 Nov. 1865 (P.R.O.N.I., T/2743/2/l).

121 Oliver McSparron, Waiwera, to his father Archibald, County Londonderry, c. 28 Apr. 1868 (ibid., T/2743/2/2).

122 Oliver McSparron, Tuakepa, to his father Archibald, County Londonderry, 26 May 1869 (ibid., T/2743/2/3.

123 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 27 June 1873.

124 Agnes Lambert, Auckland, to her sister Susan Jenkins, County Antrim, 30 Aug. 1890.

125 Agnes Lambert, Wanganui, to her niece Alice McMeekin, County Antrim, [1925].

126 Annie Dempsey, Canterbury, to her sister Eliza Burke, County Kildare, 24 Mar. 1903.

127 Richards, Eric, ‘Return migration and migrant strategies in colonial Australia’ in Rtzpatrick, David (ed.), Home or away? Immigrants in colonial Australia (Canberra, 1992), p. 64.Google ScholarPubMed

128 James Mcllrath, Canterbury, to his family, County Down, 11 Jan. 1876.

129 An earlier version of this article was delivered at the thirteenth biennial conference of the Australasian Association for European History in Auckland in July 2001. For comments of this extended version I am grateful to Dr Enda Delaney.