Table Of ContentSTUDIES IN BRITISH
AND IRISH MIGRATION
G O L D R U S H
S O C I E T I E S
A N D M I G R A NT
N ET W O R K S I N TH E
TA S M A N W O R L D
DANIEL DAVY
Gold Rush Societies and
Migrant Networks in the
Tasman World
Studies in British and Irish Migration
Series Editors: T. M. Devine, University of Edinburgh, and
Angela McCarthy, University of Otago
Showcasing the histories of migration into and out of Britain and
Ireland from the seventeenth century to contemporary times and their
impact at home and abroad
From the 1600s to the current day, millions of British and Irish
migrants have sought new lives around the world. Britain and Ireland
have also received returning migrants and other newcomers of
diverse ethnicities. This series will examine the causes, consequences,
representations and legacies of these movements on the homelands,
the migrants and the destinations in which they settled. The series
incorporates not just the inward and outward movement of people,
but of ideas, products and objects. It specifically encourages
transnational and comparative cross-disciplinary approaches across
groups, space and time.
Titles available in the series:
New Scots: Scotland’s Immigrant Communities since 1945
Edited by T. M. Devine and Angela McCarthy
Death in the Diaspora: British and Irish Gravestones
Edited by Nicholas J. Evans and Angela McCarthy
Gold Rush Societies and Migrant Networks in the Tasman World
Daniel Davy
edinburghuniversitypress.com/series/bims
Gold Rush Societies and
Migrant Networks in the
Tasman World
Daniel Davy
Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish
academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social
sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to
produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website:
edinburghuniversitypress.com
© Daniel Davy, 2021
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in 10.5/13pt Sabon by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire,
and printed and bound in Great Britain
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 4744 7734 5 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 7736 9 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 7737 6 (epub)
The right of Daniel Davy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and
Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).
Contents
List of Figures vi
Acknowledgements vii
Series Editors’ Introduction xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Glossary xiv
Editorial Notes xv
Map 1: The Tasman World xvi
Map 2: The Otago Goldfields xvii
Introduction 1
1 ‘To Return Home with . . . Satisfaction and Pleasure’:
Home and Family Networks 23
2 ‘A Great Many People I Know from Victoria’: The Victorian
Dimension of the Otago Gold Rushes 64
3 Work and Environments 96
4 Leisure Sites and Cultures 141
5 ‘We Return Home in Glory’: Chinese Networks and Gold
Seeking in Otago 174
6 ‘Monuments of Industry’? The Otago Gold Rushes in Public
and Private Memory 207
Conclusion 240
Bibliography 251
Index 276
Figures
1.1 Otago Witness, 14 February 1880 47
2.1 Individuals boarding vessels in Melbourne harbour, bound
for Otago 68
3.1 Rattray Street, Dunedin, 1862 103
3.2 Bell Hill excavations, 1863 105
3.3 View looking over Maclaggan Street, Dunedin 105
3.4 Gabriel’s Gully, 1861 108
3.5 Gabriel’s Gully, 1862 109
3.6 Shotover River 114
6.1 Former gold seekers assembled outside the Lawrence
Presbyterian Church 207
6.2 Gabriel’s Gully Semi-Centennial Jubilee Procession, 1911 212
6.3 Gabriel’s Gully Jubilee pamphlet 214
6.4 Otago Daily Times, 2 March 1911 218
Acknowledgements
As an American doctoral student at the University of Otago who had
never travelled to Australasia, the topic and the locality of this book
were as unfamiliar to me as they were to prospectors who preceded me
a century and a half ago. It was through my own encounters with place
in Dunedin and central Otago that the project first began to be reshaped
from an abstracted study of identity into a story of communities and
relationships in Dunedin, central Otago and elsewhere. Travelling from
a sprawling Washington, DC suburb, living and researching in Dunedin
– which is a small town by American standards – brought the role of
locality to the foreground. As I transcribed diaries, letters and autobi-
ographies and pored over thousands of pages of newspapers, writers
highlighted time and again the importance of local and transnational
relationships. Perhaps in some ways similar to the Victorian prospec-
tor, the friendships I made and the support I received both locally and
overseas were instrumental to the work of writing this book. Gold
Rush Societies, therefore, would have been impossible without a wide
network of friends and family in New Zealand, Australia, the United
Kingdom and the United States.
I am deeply grateful for my doctoral supervisor, Angela McCarthy,
who took an unruly dissertation proposal and helped to fashion it
into a focused study on transnational networks and local communities
during the gold rushes. She read multiple drafts of each chapter and
always challenged me to rethink my perspectives, broaden my secondary
reading and interrogate my primary sources in new ways. Angela struck
the perfect balance between offering guidance and letting this project be
my own. This book would not have been possible without her direction,
encouragement and support. The degree to which the book succeeds is
due to her guidance. Any limitations or failings of the book are my own.
viii gold rush societies in the tasman world
I am also indebted to the Department of History and Art History at the
University of Otago. This book truly grew out of its rich academic com-
munity. Gold Rush Societies’ exploration of multiple entangled bodies
of scholarship is the result of multiple Department members’ generosity
in reading drafts, recommending secondary literature and discussing
methodology. Tom Brooking sharpened my understanding of the Otago
rushes and environmental history. Tony Ballantyne encouraged me to
think concretely about the role of space and place in colonial history.
John Stenhouse developed my grasp of New Zealand history, while
Brian Moloughney deepened my understanding of Chinese migration.
Erik Olssen always offered support and encouragement. Vanessa Ward
and Mark Seymour read multiple drafts and constantly encouraged me
to write as a reader. Barbara Brookes, as Department Chair, fostered a
sense of community within the Department and provided funding for
multiple research trips throughout central Otago, which were vital to
the conceptual framework of the book. A network of fellow postgradu-
ate students, particularly Kenton Storey and Scott Campbell, provided
a sense of community and challenged me to improve as an historian.
I am also grateful to several historians who have provided critical
insights and feedback at various stages of the book’s development.
Conversations with Terry Hearn, Keir Reeves, Lloyd Carpenter, David
Goodman, Antoinette Burton, Rory Sweetman, Lyndon Fraser, Rainer
Buschmann, Colin Barr, Kirsten McKenzie and Marjory Harper have
influenced this book in various ways. My curiosity in the Tasman World
was nurtured during postgraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh
under the supervision of Tom Devine and Enda Delaney. Though Tom
and Enda were not involved in this project, their guidance is nevertheless
imprinted on this book.
I was also supported by archivists at the Central Stories Museum
(Otago), the Lakes District Museum (Otago), the Lawrence Museum
(Otago), the Mitchell Library, the State Library of Victoria, the Alexander
Turnbull Library, the Library of Congress, the Scottish National Library,
the Presbyterian Church Research Centre Archive (Otago), the Hokitika
Museum, the Dunedin Public Library and the Hocken Collections. I
owe a special debt to the staff of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, par-
ticularly Seán Brosnahan and Jill Haley, who is now at the Canterbury
Museum. In the midst of renovations at the Museum, Jill granted access
to several valuable uncatalogued manuscripts and unwearyingly accom-
modated my endless string of requests. Sarah Foyle and Jen Daly at
Edinburgh University Press also provided support and endless patience
throughout the publication process during the time of the coronavirus.
acknowledgements ix
At Ave Maria University, I am grateful to Roger Nutt for his encour-
agement and understanding of the difficulties of writing, teaching and
serving in administration. Michael Dauphinais has similarly provided
assistance throughout my time at AMU. My colleagues, particularly Paul
Baxa, Michael Breidenbach, Mary Blanchard, Gabriel Martinez and
James Patterson, have benefited me through their support and friend-
ship. The AMU library staff provided exceptional support in obtaining
several books not easily accessible in the United States via interlibrary
loans. My students, particularly those in British Empire, Historiography
and the American West – who I forced to give feedback on chapter
drafts – have taught me the joys of combining research and teaching.
I owe the greatest debt to Julie Davy, who agreed to leave her world
behind three months after our wedding day and travel to New Zealand
so I could pursue what I love. Whether it was driving on the edge of a
cliff in the Lakes District or getting lost outside of Middlemarch, Julie
was there at every step of this book’s development. She never wavered in
her support as I juggled the book alongside teaching and administrative
responsibilities at AMU. Finally, I want to thank Joseph, Simeon, Max,
Therese and Edy, whose Nerf battles and baby dolls always continue to
keep me grounded.
