THE CHALLENGES OF IMMIGRATION (RE)SOURCE PACK. Primary Sources. digitalschools

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1 BRP 301 THE CHALLENGES OF IMMIGRATION digitalschools (RE)SOURCE PACK Primary Sources Source A - Lancashire Witch from Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 91, ICPS 1273/1867 In August 1867, the immigrant ship Lancashire Witch was the subject of a complaint about the conduct of four young women while on the voyage to New Zealand. The document that follows is a copy of a report about the ship by an Immigration Offi cer to the Provincial Secretary concerning the ship. Written in the days before typewriters, carbon paper or other means of effi cient reproduction, it was copied by hand to keep as a record for the future. It comes from a large collection of original material created by the Canterbury Provincial Government on Immigration, which is an excellent collection of primary source documents. Transcript The Commissioners report that they found the ship in average condition in regards to cleanliness. The provisions were reported as satisfactory in quality and quantity, with the exception of Flour. The quality reported was bad the distilling apparatus (Graveley s) had milled but indifferently, requiring to be consistently going during the 24 hours to give (?) a diminished supply to the immigrants. The Single Women were generally well conducted and appear a desirable class of immigrant, but to this there is a marked exception in the case of girls all supplied from one agent in London whose name will be communicated to the Provincial government with detailed particulars. The arrangements of the ship was of a nature that the Commissioners consider particularly objectionable besides the presence of Single Male Saloon passengers frequently objected to by the Commissioners in reporting arriving ships. In the Lancashire Witch they note the following: In the Single Women s compartments two assisted immigrants for a payment were allowed an enclosed cabin, thus establishing difference when all should be equal. In the compartment allotted to married immigrants, the second cabin passengers for Steerage passengers, the female hospital and dispensary and through it only has access to the store room. In the Single men s compartment was the male hospital, the single immigrants, free passengers, immigrants as in the Single Women s compartments, for extra payment an enclosed cabin and besides these a portion of the crew s. The Surgeon Superintendent, the matron and Officers of the Ship are recommended for full gratuities. (Names follow). Memorandum: The four girls referred to in the report were sent by an agent in London named Dawson. One at least came on board suffering from venereal complaint and all four are believed to be prostitutes. Eliza Daniels Harriet Goddard Flora George Alice Small From Mr Dawson s, London Eliza Trumper far gone in the family way. Lancashire Witch, by Thomas Dutton Archives Ref: CH 287, CP 91, ICPS 1273/1867 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 1

2 Source A - Lancashire Witch from Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 91, ICPS 1273/1867 BRP 301 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 2

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6 Source B - Immigration Agent Job Application from Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 139, ICPS 1950/1873 The letter below was written by a Mrs Matthews to the Provincial Government, regarding immigration. At the time, the Province s population was predominantly male, and as we have just seen, there was some concern regarding the character of some of the women who did make the journey from England. Transcript Christchurch Nov 22nd 1873 To His Hon. Superintendent of Canterbury Sir You are sending agents to the Old Country in purpose to get out the right class of Immigrants and that s the only plan to adapt and make the place go ahead proper. But you will never get the right class of females unless you send a female agent from here to the Mother Country so I am willing to go to the Old Country as one if you offer anything fair, but without a little money I cannot go. I have been in Christchurch for fifteen years in business the most of the time so I ought to know a little about the province as well as the people. I am well known amongst the Merchants here as A woman of business habits. I shall call at your office next Thursday morning if possible. Immigration Poster from Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 143, ICPS 772(2)/1874 BRP 301 During the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, the Provincial Government and the General Government worked to encourage and organise settler immigration into Canterbury, as had the Canterbury Association and Nanto-Bordelaise Company before them. Between 1853 and 1876 some 61,000 immigrants arrived in the province, more than 37,000 of these being granted assisted passages by either the Provincial Government or General Government. The Government promoted and recruited immigrants in Britain, helped pay for their passage and provided temporary living quarters when they arrived. Immigration Resource Pack, page 6 CH287,CP143, ICPS 772(2)/1874 Poster

7 Source B - Immigration Agent Job Application from Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 139, ICPS 1950/1873 BRP 301 Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 139, ICPS 1950/1873, page 1 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 7

8 Archives Reference: CH 287, CP 139, ICPS 1950/1873, page 2 BRP 301 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 8

9 BRP 301 CH287,CP143, ICPS 772(2)/1874 Poster Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 9

10 BRP 301 AN INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL SOURCES digitalschools An Introduction to Historical Sources When you decide to conduct research into a particular theme, issue or family you can use a wide variety of sources to answer questions and provide evidence about the past. There are two types of sources: Primary sources are actual records of the time such as letters, files, photographs etc. Some primary sources can be published documents. These were created for large audiences and were distributed widely. Published documents include government reports, advertisements, maps, pamphlets, posters, laws, and court decisions. Primary Sources are unique and irreplaceable. Primary sources are found in archival institutions such as Archives New Zealand, or the Documentary Research Centre at Canterbury Museum. Secondary sources are works which interpret or analyse an historical event. They are often accounts of the past created by people writing about events after they happened, such as books, films, essays etc. Secondary sources are not unique and can be replaced if lost or stolen. Secondary Sources can be found at institutions such as libraries or on websites eg Canterbury Public Library, New Zealand History Website. The New Zealand Government creates thousands of records every year. They cover a wide range of subjects, from citizenship to deceased estates, land ownership to health policy. Some of the records are valuable not only at the time, for the administration of government, but also into the future both as evidence and information. When using these primary sources you should remember that they were created to service a particular need of government and this may have been the reason why the records were kept. The historical information they contain is additional to this evidential data. Archives New Zealand was established to care for these public records. Publications: Publications are material that have been printed, published and made available to a wide audience. In terms of historical research, published material can be used to interpret or analyse an historical event. Publications should be evaluated for reliability, bias and accuracy. When using publications you should think about who the intended audience was as their bias is often reflected in published materials.you can find a range of published sources at the Christchurch City Libraries. Manuscripts/Unpublished material: Many manuscripts and unpublished documents have survived and are in museum, library or private collections. These primary sources include personal letters, diaries and journals, family histories. Sometimes (RE)SEARCH INFO Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 10 Archives Ref: CH 287, ICPW 2047/1875 Fendal Town Map Image Courtesy of Colin Amodeo

11 special archives are established to look after documents and records from a particular organisation like church archives (eg. the Methodist Church of New Zealand Archives) or a business (eg Bank of New Zealand Archives). These records can give evidence about the past. These unpublished resources were often created by people interested in history, who wanted to keep a record of events. You can fi nd these sources in places like Canterbury Museum. Newspapers/Magazines: Some primary sources are also publications. Publications were created for large audiences and were widely available. Newspapers and magazines are very useful resources when looking at particular periods in history. They contain fi rst-hand accounts of events, editorials and advertisements. When using newspapers and magazines to research a history topic, remember that just because something was published in a paper does not make it accurate, truthful, or reliable. Reporters also have a point of view and prejudices. But even these bias can help you understand the past. You can fi nd sources like these at Christchurch City Libraries. Websites: Websites can contain primary sources (such as digital images of documents) but those type of sites are in themselves secondary sources. Some websites may be considered a primary source if it capturing evidence of an organisation s activity (eg. fi lling in an on-line enrolment form for a Polytech course). You can search on the web using Google to access some of these sites, or you can visit a site like Movies: There are a lot of historical movies available today (eg. Braveheart, Gladiator, Troy, Emma). Although the story they tell may be based on history some dramatic license may be taken with historical events and personalities to make the movie more interesting. These secondary sources can be useful for helping researchers visualise a particular era. You can fi nd these, and other, movies at your local videostore. Art/Visual: The types of primary, visual sources include photographs, paintings, and other types of artwork. Visual documents, like art works, capture a particular moment in time. They can provide evidence of what that time was like and they can be used to compare changes over time. Art and visual records can present evidence about a culture at a specifi c era in history (eg Maori customs in the late nineteenth century). It is important to remember that like all primary sources, a visual record has a creator with a point of view or bias (eg. painter). Even photographs cannot be taken at face value. You need to look behind the lens to the photographers who used fi lm and cameras to create desired results. You can fi nd artworks at the Christchurch Art Gallery. Oral/Sound: Oral histories were how our ancestors passed down stories about the past. Before writing became popular this how generations passed on their traditions and knowledge. Historians can fi nd out about the lives of ordinary people through their oral stories. Oral histories are important primary historical sources that give us important information about people, particularly minority groups who may have been excluded from published records, who did not leave behind written sources. Sound recordings may document events, meetings, interviews or oral histories and form invaluable records and archives. The recordings help give meaning to New Zealand history and both enhance and expand the cultural identity of New Zealand. You can fi nd oral histories at the Alexander Turnbull Library and old sound recordings can be found at The Radio New Zealand Sound Archives. Archives Ref: AAAC 898, NCWA 237 Sargeant O Malley BRP 301 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 11

12 BRP 301 THE CHALLENGES OF IMMIGRATION digitalschools An Introduction to Archival Sources - Immigration Introduction During the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, the Provincial Government and the General Government worked to encourage and organise settler immigration into Canterbury, as had the Canterbury Association and Nanto-Bordelaise Company before them. Between 1853 and 1876 some 61,000 immigrants arrived in the province, more than 37,000 of these being granted assisted passages by either the Provincial Government or General Government. The Government promoted and recruited immigrants in Britain, helped pay for their passage and provided temporary living quarters when they arrived. Institutions Canterbury Provincial Government Between 1853 and 1876 New Zealand was ruled by a method of Government which included elements of a federal system. The archives of the provincial government in Canterbury provide an important record of life in the region during this period. Representative government in the colony was granted in a decentralised form under the provisions of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, which established the Provincial Government of Canterbury (the boundaries of which stretched across the Alps to include the West Coast below the Grey River, known as West Canterbury ). This comprised an elected executive, in the form of the Superintendent and his executive council, and an elected legislature, the Provincial Council. The provincial governments in the colony were given functions similar to those of local bodies in England: public works, immigration, education, public health, jails and police, but claimed for themselves other functions during their 25 years existence. In the middle years of its existence the Provincial Government in Canterbury administered the province through the following bureaucracy: The Provincial Secretary was the chief public servant reporting to the Superintendent, but by 1864 his department was helped by a separate Office of the Secretary for Public Works, and an officer responsible for the administration of the goldfields in West Canterbury. The three departments reporting directly to the Superintendent were therefore: 1. Provincial Secretary s Department 2. Office of Secretary for Public Works 3. Secretary for the Goldfields (RE)SEARCH INFO The Immigration Department reported to the Provincial Secretary. In London an immigration agent help secure immigrants for the province. Immigration immigration Resource resource Pack, kit, page 12 CH287,CP143, ICPS 772(2)/1874 Poster

13 General Government The 1852 Constitution also established representative and later, responsible, government at a national level, by which the Governor acted on the advice of elected members of the national General Assembly. The General Government kept to itself control of a number of areas such as defence, justice and customs. As the spheres of administration of the general and provincial governments were not clearly set out, however, the 25 years in which this dual system was in place saw many disagreements between the General Government and the various provincial governments, and many changes in who could do what to whom. Immigration was one of these areas of dispute and change. Until 1870 the administration of immigration into the colony was clearly in the hands of the provincial governments. Then the General Government passed the Immigration and Public Works Act in 1870 as part of the expanded programme of immigration and public works associated with the Colonial Treasurer, Julius Vogel. An Agent General was appointed in London over the agents acting for the various provinces. In 1871 it became compulsory for the provinces to put immigration under the control of the Agent General. Canterbury s immigration staff became employees of the General Government in 1872, and the provincial immigration officer became the General Government immigration officer for the province. However, the Provincial Government continued to be involved in immigration until the time of its demise. Records The Canterbury Provincial Government Archives These records form an extremely rich resource for the history of Canterbury in this period. The most useful sources in the Canterbury Provincial archives (CP) are three very large series: CH287,CP 98, ICPS 943/ Immigration Report 1. Inwards Correspondence of the Provincial Secretary (ICPS) Inwards Correspondence of the Secretary for Public Works (ICPW) Papers of the Provincial Council (PPC) The Inwards Correspondence of the Provincial Secretary (ICPS) The Provincial Secretary was the most important civil servant of the Provincial Government, and was its hub - especially from when there was no Secretary for Public Works. His inwards correspondence is a massive series (some 182 boxes) and it covers all possible facets of the Provincial Government s activities - immigration, education, charitable aid, health, public works (until 1864), goldfields, justice and so on. 2. The Inwards Correspondence of the Secretary for Public Works (ICPW) This is also a very large series of correspondence and starts in 1864 when the first Secretary for Public Works was appointed. ICPW is the place to look for correspondence relating to any Provincial Government building activity - including railways, the Lyttelton rail tunnel, roads, bridges, public buildings, immigration barracks and so on. 3. Papers of the Provincial Council (PPC) These are all the surviving papers presented to or created by the Canterbury Provincial Council in each of its 42 sessions. This series allows you to see just what the Provincial Council was doing - how it was spending its money, how policy was formulated and legislation enacted (called Ordinances). Regular reports on a variety of topics can be found in this series, and sometimes these cover the lifespan of the Provincial Government. BRP 301 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 13

14 Other Important Series Outwards Correspondence There are outwards letterbooks containing copies of outwards correspondence from the Superintendent, the Provincial Secretary, the Secretary for Public Works, and the Secretary for Railways. Inwards Correspondence of the Secretary for Railways (ICR) For the years there was a separate correspondence system for the Railways Office. Special Subject Files (SSF) These are large files on particular subjects. They are made up of correspondence drawn from ICPS, ICPW and ICR, and were kept separate from their mother series - no doubt for ease of reference. Further Archival Sources There are within the archives of the Provincial Government many other relevant records relating to immigration and these are easy to access. Most of these are found within the series: Inwards Correspondence of the Provincial Secretary, as the Immigration Department reported to this official. Some relevant documents were taken out of this series and kept in Special Subject Files. Most documents relating to immigration in these series have been indexed. The list of immigration related documents can be browsed in chronological order (on our computerised finding aids or in hard copy) or searched by name of ship, person, topic, etc. Many are reports and letters relating to individual emigrant ships but others deal with the practical problems faced by the government in its administration of immigration into Canterbury. BRP 301 Immigration immigration Resource Pack, page 14