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Story: Farming in the economy

Rabbiter

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Rabbiter

The rabbiter had several tools of trade. He had a team of dogs to hunt and run down rabbits, a shovel to dig up rabbit holes and, in his shoulder bag, he had ferrets to put down rabbit holes to either kill or flush out the rabbits. This rabbiter has dug up a burrow containing several young rabbits. Such methods were slow and ineffective when rabbits were increasing at a rapid rate.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AANR 6329 55 A 33225

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Robert Peden, Farming in the economy – The closing of the farming frontier, 1900s to 1920, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/17630/rabbiter (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Robert Peden, published 1 March 2009.