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Story: Acclimatisation

Wardian case

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Wardian case

Wardian cases were used for transporting plants on ships from Britain to New Zealand, and vice versa. In the late 1860s, many cases arrived with all the plants dead, as they had not been looked after on the voyage. More success was had in the 1870s – greater care was taken with packing and storage, and someone was appointed to watch the load.

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

by Andrew Mc Robb

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Acclimatisation – Early acclimatisation societies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/17465/wardian-case (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 15 March 2013.