Sheep farms take up nearly half of New Zealand's land area. Much of this land could not be used for any other kind of present farming. Most sheep are on the drier eastern portions of the two Islands; the west coast of the South Island, with its high rainfall, runs very few sheep. The west coast of the North Island is drier and carries more sheep, though not so many as on the east coast; 1964 figures show 41,671 owners of more than 51 million sheep; the average flock size from these figures is approximately 1,200 sheep. This table gives more detail and shows that flocks between 500 and 999 sheep predominate.

In general, the most fertile land is reserved for dairying and intensive farming; but only the highest and most barren country supports no sheep at all. Carrying capacity varies greatly. Some of the high country in the South Island, covered with sparse native grasses and tussock, carries maybe one sheep to 10 acres; improved pastures, heavily topdressed, carry six or more sheep to the acre.

Captain Cook landed two Merino sheep in Marlborough in 1773, but they failed to survive. The Rev. Samuel Marsden brought Merino sheep from Australia to the Bay of Islands in 1814, but there is no record of permanent establishment of this flock. The real foundation of the pastoral industry was the importation in 1834 of 105 Merinos from Australia by John Bell Wright, who landed them on Mana Island near Wellington. In the following year he sent a few bags of their wool to Sydney for sale – the beginning of New Zealand's wool industry.

Until refrigeration in 1882 wool was one of the few valuable exports. The early flocks were all Merinos, but it was soon found that they did not thrive in wetter districts and, from about 1850 onwards, English breeds (Leicesters, Lincolns, Romneys, and Southdowns) were introduced. About this time New Zealand developed its own breed of sheep – the now famous Corriedale – since exported to all other important wool-producing countries.

Woodville is situated on the northern bank of the Mangaatua Stream near its junction with the Manawatu River and about 3 miles from the eastern portal of the Manawatu Gorge. The surrounding land, comprising the central part of the eastern catchment basin of the Manawatu River, is flat to undulating. On the west are the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges, and to the east the Puketoi and Waewaepa Ranges. Woodville is a junction for railways and highways from Napier, Palmerston North, and the Wairarapa Valley. Palmerston North is 17 miles west by road, Pahiatua 10 miles south, and Dannevirke 17 miles north.

The main rural activities are dairying, sheep raising and fat-lamb production. Woodville is a servicing and shopping centre for the district, and its industries include the manufacture of butter, clothing, carpet underfelt, and concrete products. It is a market town for livestock and has large saleyards.

The first settlers in the district arrived from southern Hawke's Bay in 1862. By 1870 a township had emerged on an old route between the Manawatu and Hawke's Bay districts. When the Manawatu Gorge road was constructed in 1874, Woodville became an important road junction and a staging place for coach services. It was then known as “The Junction”. The influx of road workers and, in the early 1880s, the arrival of the railway and railway workers, stimulated the growth of the town. The name Woodville probably refers to its location within the Seventy Mile Bush. A town board was established on 24 December 1884, and on June 1887 Woodville was constituted a borough.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 1,279; 1956 census, 1,439; 1961 census, 1,529.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

(1821–95).

Architect and Minister of the Crown.

Reader Gillson Wood was born in 1821 at Highfields, Leicester, England, the son of Thomas Wood, a London wool stapler, and Sarah, née Gillson. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, London, and apprenticed to William Flint, an architect and surveyor. About 1843 Wood emigrated to Australia and in the following year came to New Zealand where he obtained a commission in the volunteer artillery. He saw active service at Ohaeawai, during the uprising of Hone Heke, and was mentioned in dispatches. After the war he settled in Auckland where he practised his profession for some years. In 1848 he was appointed Inspector of Roads; a year later he became permanent Government Architect and Inspector of Public Works. In 1852 he became Deputy Surveyor-General for New Ulster. He retained this position under the Auckland Provincial Government until 1856, when control over waste lands was transferred to the General Government. From 1857 until 1861 he represented Auckland Suburbs in the Provincial Council; and in 1858 stood unsuccessfully against Forsaith for the House of Representatives. On 15 January 1861 he defeated Heale for the Parnell seat, and shortly afterwards joined Fox's Ministry as Colonial Treasurer and Commissioner of Customs, retaining these portfolios in the succeeding Domett and Whitaker Ministries. He retired from the latter Ministry in November 1864, when he went to London to raise the £3,000,000 needed to finance the Government's land-settlement scheme. His mission was not entirely successful, and on his return he resigned from Parliament in order to resume practice as an architect and sharebroker. In 1870 he returned to Parliament where he emerged as one of the strongest opponents of Vogel on financial matters. He re-entered the Auckland Provincial Council (1873–76) and served on Sir George Grey's Provincial Executive in 1875.

Wood supported the Grey Ministry until shortly after the 1879 general election. He attended the Liberal caucuses which followed the Ministry's defeat and at one of these he proposed that Macandrew should succeed Grey as the party leader. With Grey and Macandrew he was elected to the Committee of Management formed to conduct the party's affairs and participated in its deliberations until 29 October 1879. On that day he informed the committee that he and his Auckland colleagues, Colbeck, Hurst, and Swanson, intended to support Hall on the forthcoming motion of no confidence. Later he informed the House that, although he had consistently supported Grey as party leader, he considered his allegiance had terminated when the party chose to discard Grey. In the meantime he had been approached by Hall and had agreed, conditionally upon the Government's undertaking to promote certain liberal measures and ensuring that Auckland would receive its fair share of loan moneys, to transfer his support. Wood was criticised severely for his insistence on the latter condition and his action was long cited as an example of the worst evils of the party system. It is more probable, however, that Wood merely wished to prevent a repetition of the situation in 1877 when Larnach carried a want of confidence motion against the Atkinson Ministry and had forced Sir George Grey upon a reluctant House as Premier. The whole business aroused great bitterness in the House. The revolt of the “Auckland Rats”, as Wood and his associates were called, split the Liberal Party into several factions, the most notable being those led by Macandrew and Montgomery. These were not reunited until 1888 when Ballance became Leader of the Opposition. Wood remained in Parliament until November 1881 when he retired from politics.

On 20 May 1850, at the Church of St. Paul, Auckland, Wood married Mary Jane Holland. He died on 20 August 1895 at Brighton Road, Parnell, leaving one son.

Wood possessed a sound knowledge of finance and proved an able administrator. He was a fluent speaker, showed great facility as a debater, and in Parliament became one of Vogel's most pungent and unrelenting critics.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

Grey Papers (MSS), Auckland Public Library; N.Z.P.D. Vol. 32 (1879); New Zealand Herald, 21 Aug 1895 (Obit); Auckland Star, 21 Aug 1895 (Obit), 23 Aug 1895.

(1903– ).

Historian.

A new biography of Wood, Frederick Lloyd Whitfeld appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Frederick Lloyd Whitfield Wood was born in Sydney on 29 September 1903, son of Professor G. A. Wood, and was educated at Sydney Grammar School, Sydney University, and Balliol College, Oxford. For a time he taught history at Repton School, Derbyshire, and lectured in history at Balliol in 1929 and again in 1937. Subsequently he took a position as lecturer at Sydney University, 1930–34, and in 1935 was appointed to his present post as professor of history at Victoria University of Wellington. In 1952–53 he was Carnegie visiting fellow at Chatham House, London. His publications include The Constitutional Development of Australia (1933), A Concise History of Australia (1944), New Zealand in the World (1940), Understanding New Zealand (1944), The New Zealand People at War (1958), and This New Zealand (1946 and 1958).

(1878–1947).

Architect.

A new biography of Wood, Cecil Walter appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Cecil Walter Wood was the sixth child of Robert Haswell Wood and his wife, Amelia, née Tribe. He was born at Christchurch on 6 June 1878. At the age of 16, Wood became articled to F. W. Strouts, a practising architect in Christchurch, and later worked for Clarkson and Ballantyne. When he was 23 he went to England and worked with the London County Council under F. Weir Schultze and Leonard Stokes. Returning to New Zealand in 1907 he entered into partnership with Samuel Hurst Seager, this firm later becoming Hurst Seager, Wood, and Munnings. A year or so after this Wood withdrew from the partnership and began in practice on his own account. His work at first was in the domestic field. He served in the First World War and on his return designed the Christ's College Memorial Dining Hall, a Gothic work of real distinction. At one stage he took R. S. D. Harman into partnership; at another, G. W. Bucknell. These partnerships, however, lasted only for short periods. His works in the inter World War periods were on a larger scale, notable examples being the Public Trust Offices at Christchurch and Dunedin; the State Fire Insurance, Christchurch; Bishopscourt, Christchurch; Hereford Street Post Office, Christchurch; and churches at Waiau, Woodbury, Fendalton, Taitapu, Cashmere, and Woodend. He made several trips abroad, the last one being to study ecclesiastical work in preparation for the Wellington Cathedral, his final major design. He died, however, before construction began and his plans were revised by Robert Munro.

In the course of his life he was assessor in several important competitions, including designs for the National War Memorial in Wellington, the Wellington Public Library, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

His interests were few outside his work and his home; he gave everything to his professional responsibility. His nature was most retiring; although confident of his ability, he was shy in many ways.

Cecil Wood died at Christchurch on 28 November 1947.

Cecil Wood's contribution to architecture in New Zealand was most important. At the time when he was young, ideas overseas were moving away from the battlefield of Gothic versus Classic through the William Morris and Nouveau Art influence towards a greater freedom. Men like Wood, who had travelled overseas to study these new trends, were able to reduce the time lag of this influence. In effect, architects of Wood's quality have enabled New Zealand's architectural stream to flow with some continuity and sureness of direction.

Wood was an individualist who, apart from the qualities of his design, set himself a high professional standard. The architects of today who have inherited the works of his generation have cause to be grateful for this stream of continuity. At least New Zealand architecture has never at any given time in its history been out of date too long with overseas trends. Wood's domestic work in particular was free and thorough; it was in this field – as opposed to the stylistic – that he truly and naturally expressed himself. In particular, his early large homesteads made a real mark. He could be versatile also, relying upon sound practical planning, an inherent artistry, and a sense of proportion and scale to produce his effects.

by Paul Pascoe, A.R.I.B.A., Architect, Christchurch.

Press (Christchurch), 29 Nov 1947 (Obit).

By the end of the nineteenth century the position of women in New Zealand society, as in all Western countries, was perceptibly altering under the influence of the feminist movement. New Zealand women were taking up public employment, had been admitted to all university degrees and to all professions, and had seen many legal injustices to their sex removed. From the time when Mary Müller of Nelson had published her pro-suffrage pamphlet in 1869, individual women began to work for political emancipation, with the result that in 1885 an organisation, with suffrage work as a principal interest, came into existence. During the year 1885 an envoy of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of the United States, Mary Leavitt, toured New Zealand and founded 15 branches of her organisation. The Women's Christian Temperance Union, formed originally as a temperance society, had acquired in the United States a markedly feminist character, and this proved to be so in New Zealand as well. As the first national body to be organised exclusively for and by women, it attracted some of the most socially active and prominent women of the country, and although it interested itself immediately in all aspects of women's status, the emphasis was, above all, political. This was apparent when the energetic and able Kate Sheppard of Christchurch became the national franchise superintendent in 1887, aided by such local secretaries as Helen Nicol of Dunedin and Amey Daldy of Auckland; the cause then gained increasing numbers of adherents. Well attended public meetings, at which women took the platform for the first time, were held in each main community, letters were sent to newspapers, and pamphlets distributed. The leaders corresponded with the leading suffragists of England, Australia, and the United States, exchanging letters of encouragement and advice. Annual petitions were sent to Parliament, culminating in the monster petition of 1893, which was signed by 30,000 women over the age of 21 years.

Women's franchise leagues were also founded, mainly to counter the suspicion of hostile liquor interests that the suffrage campaign was merely a manoeuvre of temperance agitators. By the early 1890s the movement had become a most efficient political pressure group which bombarded politicians with questions, letters, telegrams, and deputations. Even before organised suffrage agitation had begun, Stout, Ballance, Vogel, and Wallis had seriously advocated women's suffrage in Parliament. At the request of the union, Sir John Hall in 1887 undertook the leadership of the political battle and brought the question to considerable prominence. The measure, a plank of the radical Liberal platform, was passed in 1893, more, however, due to the pressure of backbench Liberals with Opposition support than to the Ministry itself, which secretly opposed the Bill by every possible means. Thus in the election of November 1893, the women of New Zealand, enrolling and voting in numbers that astonished the country, first exercised their right to use the ballot box in a State or national election.

by Patricia Ann Grimshaw, M.A., Auckland.

New Zealand women are generally regarded as industrious, reliable, and adaptable. Their attitudes are rather conventional and in the main deviate very little from a dull norm in dress, food, and home-making. The immigration since the Second World War of a number of people from European countries, and the presence of Colombo Plan students from Asian countries have leavened the habits of some, but this is counteracted in other ways by such factors as lack of choice in numerous commodities through import restrictions. New Zealand women are of a law-abiding disposition (usually only about five per cent of the total criminal charges both in the Magistrates' and in Supreme Courts are against females, and the most common serious offence is theft) and are inherently egalitarian in outlook. Many of them have received national and international acclaim for outstanding performances in research, professional, sporting, and cultural fields. Any list of people who have distinguished themselves in these spheres inevitably omits many who deserve to be mentioned, but a few who would be included are Janet Frame and Sylvia Ashton Warner as novelists; Rowena Jackson in ballet; Helen Crab (Barc), Evelyn Page, Doris Luck, Juliet Peter, and Lorna Ellis in various art forms; Dorothy Davies, Janetta McStay, Honor McKellar, and Mary Pratt in music; and Yvette Williams and Valerie Sloper in athletics. Each year sees more and more New Zealand women overcoming prejudices and widening the scope of their achievements, as well as extending their interests to spheres previously thought of as the prerogatives of men. In this way they are developing more individuality and personality, but not at the expense of their femininity. On the whole they are productive and respected employees and employers, conscientious and companionable mothers, indispensable counsellors in maturity, and happily independent in old age.

by Heather Margaret Reid, B.A., Housewife, Dunedin.

Aesthetically New Zealand women are just as gifted in creation, interpretation, and appreciation as those in any other country. Although none has recently produced sustained work of the calibre of such expatriates as Katherine Mansfield and Frances Hodgkins, it is to their credit to note that several novels have been well reviewed in reputable overseas publications, that women's contributions of a high standard are included in volumes of New Zealand poetry, and that a good selection of their painting, pottery, and sculpture is accepted for local and national art exhibitions. Very few have achieved a comparable standard in musical composition or in playwriting. Opportunities for acting, for vocal and instrumental work, and ballet dancing have until recently been limited and spasmodic for those with outstanding ability; thus many of our most talented performers have accepted bursaries and scholarships to continue their studies and earn a living overseas. An incentive to return or, alternately, to remain here, has been provided in the past few years by two professional drama companies, by the establishment of a National Orchestra and a National Concert Orchestra, and by the part-time work offered by the New Zealand Opera Company and the New Zealand Ballet Company, many of whose members are girls and women. Moreover, a great many amateur groups throughout the country satisfy those who seek recreation in the arts and provide that vital experience which might lead to selection for more prominent roles. Only a few writers, artists, musicians, and actors can support themselves entirely by their talents. Others have to depend on alternative means of making a living and be content with intermittent remuneration.

An account of women's achievements in this country would not be complete without reference to the successes of Maori women. Originally most of them lived in rural areas, caring for their families and helping with general tasks around the farm. Some obtained local or seasonal employment as it became available, but relatively few left home to take up permanent positions. The rapidly increasing Maori population and consequent subdivision of Maori land meant that farmers were unable to support large families. Further, as small rural townships could not provide sufficient employment for all young people leaving school, more and more have had to go to larger centres for both training and work, and have with credit become efficient teachers, nurses, toll operators, factory workers, tram conductresses, office workers, and institutional domestic workers. Throughout the country there are Maori women in specialised and responsible positions – doctor, hospital matron, politician, art and craft specialist, radio announcer, training college lecturer, and district nurse. Some have been successful on the stage both in New Zealand and overseas. As far as their individual abilities and ambitions go, Maori women in general have proved that they are capable of holding their own with their European colleagues.