Story: Scandinavians

Forty Mile Bush in the 1870s

Forty Mile Bush in the 1870s

A ford of one of the many rivers that cleaved the forest. A wall of vegetation surrounded the road through the Forty Mile Bush. Ancient forest giants loomed over travellers, blocking out the sky. Initially, men found work on road and rail building. Life was work – in the weekends they joined their wives and children clearing bush on their own smallholdings.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-10858; F

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:

Carl Walrond, 'Scandinavians - 1870s: assisted migration', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/287/forty-mile-bush-in-the-1870s (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Carl Walrond, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2015