Despite the growth of jobs in towns and cities, many people in New Zealand continued to believe that the economic future of the country lay on the land. The Liberal government elected in 1890 set out to preserve the ideal of the family farm by placing property taxes on large holdings, purchasing and subdividing large estates, and offering low interest loans to assist people onto the land. This cartoon from the Graphic of 1893 mocks the government’s efforts to encourage New Zealand’s little farms.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal. 21 January 1893, p. 57.
by Ashley Hunter
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