The struggle for land in the Hutt Valley, 1840 - 1875

Abstract

In 1840, The New Zealand Company established a British colony in Wellington, the nearby Hutt Valley being intended as one of its principal agricultural districts. Although much of the land in the Hutt was ideally suited for this purpose, it was limited by geographical factors. Steep hills, most of which are still unusable, bounded the Valley on the east and west, and the Tararua and Rimutaka ranges made access to the North difficult. Within the Valley the area of fertile alluvium was limited to the Lower Valley and much of Upper Hutt had clay or gravelly soils. Within this valley, from 1840 onwards, groups of Maoris and Europeans vied with each other for a share of the land. Geographic limitations were aggravated by human ones, for the land was distributed unevenly between Maori and Pakeha and between the various groups of Maoris and the various classes of Pakeha. The result was a chronic shortage of land among both races. Neither the colonial or the Provincial Governments showed much inclination to redistribute land within the Hutt or provide outlets in other districts unless forced, and even then, governmental action was limited. Therefore the shortage of land continued to be felt throughout the early colonial and the provincial periods, and beyond, and was the dominating influence on social and economic life, on race relations, and on politics in the district, as each group tried first one method and then another to overcome its problems.