Story: Economy and the environment

Sheep farming

Sheep farming

Painted around 1850 by Charles Read, this view of Whangaimoana Station in the Wairarapa shows the nature of early pastoral settlement in New Zealand. Sheep were let loose over large unfenced areas known as runs. Runholders made most of their profit from wool – the country’s first major pastoral export.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-036-015
Watercolour by Charles Rudston Read

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Eric Pawson, 'Economy and the environment - An economy based on the environment', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/21645/sheep-farming (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Eric Pawson, published 11 Mar 2010