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March 26, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum
THE SCOTS IN NEW ZEALAND.
Scottish New Zealanders
Scotland New Zealand
Total population
25,953 (by birth,
14,412 (by ancestry reported, 2013)
Regions with significant populations
throughout ...THE SCOTS IN NEW ZEALAND.
Scottish New Zealanders
Scotland New Zealand
Total population
25,953 (by birth,
14,412 (by ancestry reported, 2013)
Regions with significant populations
throughout New Zealand, but especially North Otago, Otago & Southland
Languages
New Zealand English (Southland burr), Scots, Scottish Gaelic
Religion
Roman Catholic, Protestantism
Scottish New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of Scottish ancestry or New Zealanders who originate from Scotland.
Scottish migration to New Zealand dates back to the earliest period of European colonisation. However, identification as "British" or "European" New Zealanders can sometimes obscure their origin.
The majority of Scottish immigrants settled in the South Island. All over New Zealand, the Scots developed different means to bridge the old homeland and the new.
Many Caledonian societies were formed, well over 100 by the early twentieth century, who helped maintain Scottish culture and traditions. From the 1860s, these societies organised annual Caledonian Games throughout New Zealand.
The Games were sports meets that brought together Scottish settlers and the wider New Zealand public. In so doing, the Games gave Scots a path to cultural integration as Scottish New Zealanders.
In 2013, the number of New Zealanders born in Scotland was recorded as 25,953, making it the eighth most common place of birth.
This can be contrasted with the mid-20th century, e.g. in 1956, when the figure was 46,401, making Scotland the second most common place of birth. However,
these figures only include people born in Scotland, not those New Zealanders who claim a Scottish identity through their parents, grandparents, or even further back.
In addition, many New Zealanders come from mixed origins, with Scottish New Zealanders co-identifying as Maori or another ethnic group. In 2006, 15,039 self-identified as Scottish.
History of Otago and Southland Province
The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland, materialised in March 1848 with the arrival of the first two immigrant ships from Greenock on the Firth of Clyde – the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing.
Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the Peninsular War, served as the colony's first leader: Otago citizens subsequently elected him to the office of Superintendent.
Provincial government in New Zealand ceased in 1876, and the national limelight gradually shifted northwards. The colony divided itself into counties in 1876,
two in Otago being named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce.
Originally part of Otago Province, Southland Province (a small part of the present Region, centred on Invercargill) was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1861 until 1870.
It rejoined Otago Province due to financial difficulties, and the provinces were abolished entirely in 1876.
In 1856, a petition was put forward to Thomas Gore Browne, the Governor of New Zealand, for a port at Bluff. Browne agreed to the petition and gave the name Invercargill to the settlement north of the port.
Inver comes from the Scots Gaelic word inbhir meaning a river's mouth and Cargill is in honour of Captain William Cargill, who was at the time the Superintendent of Otago, of which Southland was then a part.
Dunedin
The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland founded Dunedin at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its Scottish settlement. The name comes from Dùn Èideann,
the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the Scottish capital.Charles Kettle the city's surveyor, instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking, 'Romantic' design.
The result was both grand and quirky streets as the builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across the challenging landscape.
Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the war against Napoleon, was the secular leader. The Reverend Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet Robert Burns, was the spiritual guide.
The Octagon was first laid out during Charles Kettle's surveying of the city in 1846. His plans for the centre of Dunedin included a large Octagonal area (Moray Place) enclosing a smaller octagonal shape,
originally designated as a reserve. Despite the reserve status, the Church of England sought to build in the centre of the Octagon, applying directly to Governor Sir George Grey.
It was not until building was about to commence that the local (predominantly Scottish and Presbyterian) community became aware of what was happening.
This resulted in a major furore within the city. Otago Superintendent William Cargill was put in charge of the dispute, resulting in the Anglicans being forced to withdraw their plans for The Octagon
(The Anglican St. Paul's Cathedral stands today at the northern edge of The Octagon),Many of the suburbs of Dunedin are named after their Edinburgh equivalents.
Otago Highlanders
Carisbrook, home ground of the Highlanders in Dunedin (rugby).
Dunedin's main rugby team are called The Highlanders. The name Highlanders was chosen after the early Scottish settlers in the lower South Island.
These Scottish settlers were the founders of Dunedin—known as the "Edinburgh of the South", and the city where the Highlanders are based.
According to the Highlanders official website: " The name and image of the Highlander conjures up visions of fierce independence, pride in one's roots, loyalty, strength, kinship, honesty, and hard work.
The colours of the Highlanders encompasses the provincial colours of North Otago, Otago, and Southland; yellow, blue and maroon.
Blue is also the predominant colour of the Flag of Scotland, and is used by many sports teams in that country.
University of Otago
Dunedin founders Thomas Burns and James Macandrew urged the Otago Provincial Council during the 1860s to set aside a land endowment for an institute of higher education.
An ordinance of the council established the university in 1869, giving it 100,000 acres (400 km2) of land, and the power to grant degrees in Arts, Medicine, Law and Music.
Burns was named Chancellor, but he did not live to see the university open on 5 July 1871.The university issued just one degree before becoming an affiliate college of the federal University of New Zealand in 1874.
With the dissolving of the University of New Zealand in 1961 and passage of the University of Otago Amendment Act 1961, the university regained authority to confer degrees.
The University's coat of arms was granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms on 21 January 1948, and features a yellow saltire, on blue.
Notable people of New Zealand with Scottish descent.
William Cargill (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004)
John Barr (poet), poet, wrote in Lallans
Norman McLeod (minister)
Katie Sadleir, Olympian, born Torphins.
Elizabeth Yates (mayor)
Alistair Campbell (poet)
James Keir Baxter, writer
Winston Peters, New Zealand First politician, of Scottish and Maori roots.
Minnie Dean (1844–1895) murderer, and the only woman to receive the death penalty in New Zealand, born Greenock.
James Mckenzie, possibly born in Ross-shire, Scotland, in 1820 was a New Zealand outlaw who has become one of the country's most enduring folk heroes. The Mackenzie Basin in the central South Island is named for him.
Kate Sheppard, suffragette, born in Liverpool, England to Scottish parents.
Elizabeth Grace Neill, lobbied for passage of laws requiring training and registration of nurses and midwives in New Zealand.
Bret McKenzie, one-half of the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords
Prime Ministers
Many of the prime ministers of New Zealand have been of Scottish descent. They include:
Robert Stout (1844–1930), born Lerwick
Thomas Mackenzie (1854–1930), born Edinburgh
Peter Fraser (1884–1950), born Tain
Edward Stafford (politician), on three occasions in the mid-19th century, born Edinburgh.
Sir John Ross Marshall (New Zealand politician), (1912-1988).
Military.
William Meldrum (1865–1964), New Zealand WWI General.
William Meldrum CB, CMG, DSO, VD (28 July 1865 – 13 February 1964) was a New Zealand lawyer, farmer, military leader, magistrate and local politician.
Born in the Northland region of New Zealand in 1865, Meldrum studied law after completing his schooling. A talented sportsman, he played representative rugby and cricket for Auckland.
He was a barrister and solicitor practicing in Auckland initially before moving south to the Rangitikei District. He continued to work in the legal profession but also took up farming and was involved in local body politics.
He was also prominent in the local militia, establishing a unit of mounted rifle volunteers. During the First World War, he volunteered for service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force
and commanded the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment during the Gallipoli Campaign and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. By late 1917, he was a Brigadier-General and commander of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade.
Returning to New Zealand after the war, he resumed practicing law. He later moved to Greymouth where he became the local magistrate and also served as the town's mayor.
He died at Burnham Camp in 1964 at age of 98.
Scottish placenames
There are Scottish placenames all over New Zealand, but they tend to be concentrated in the southern part of South Island.
Notable Scottish placenames in New Zealand include:
North Island
Hamilton
Huntly
Napier
South Island
Dunedin, from Dun Eideann, the Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh. The town was originally to be called "New Edinburgh". Many of its street and suburb names mirror those of Edinburgh.
Invercargill, from "Inver" meaning a river mouth (an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Inbhir), plus "Cargill"
Balclutha, from Baile Chluaidh meaning the town on the Clutha River (Abhainn Chluaidh – River Clyde)
Lammerlaw Range (mountains)
The Grampians (mountains)
Oban, the "capital" and only town of Stewart Island/Rakiura
Ulva Island
Water of Leith (river)
Many of the artificial lakes that have been formed as part of the Waitaki River hydroelectric scheme have also been given Scottish names, among them Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore.
The South Island also contains the Strath-Taieri and the Ben Ohau Range of mountains, both combining Scots Gaelic and Maori origins.
Invercargill has the appearance of a Scottish name, since it combines the Scottish prefix "Inver" (Inbhir), meaning a river's mouth, with "Cargill", the name of a Scottish official.
(Many of Invercargill's main streets are named after Scottish rivers: Dee, Tay, Spey, Esk, Don, Doon, Clyde, etc.). Inchbonnie is a hybrid of Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic.
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