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Story: Government and agriculture

Land purchases in the South Island, early 1860

  • 1844

    1844

  • 1848

    1848

  • 1849

    1849

  • 1854

    1854

  • 1856

    1856

  • 1857

    1857

  • 1859

    1859

  • 1860

    1860

  • 1864

    1864

By the early 1860s the whole of the South Island had been bought by the Crown. This map shows the areas purchased, the year the purchase was made, and the price. The early purchase of land for European settlement allowed farming to rapidly expand in the South Island.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: Bronwyn Dalley and Gavin McLean, Frontier of Dreams. Auckland: Hachette Livre NZ, 2005, p. 157

Source: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1865, G-3.

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Tony Nightingale, Government and agriculture – Land purchase and early farming regulations, 1840–1876, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/18044/land-purchases-in-the-south-island-early-1860 (accessed 7 June 2026).

Story by Tony Nightingale, published 1 March 2009.