Living and dying on the edge of the Empire: a bioarchaeological examination of Otago’s early European settlers

ABSTRACT

During the nineteenth century, New Zealand was promoted as a land of plenty, promising a ‘better life’, to encourage families to settle and develop the growing colony. This paper characterises the life-course of early settlers to New Zealand through historical epidemiological and osteological analyses of the St John’s burial ground in Milton, Otago. These people represent some of the first European colonists to Aotearoa, and their children. The analyses provided glimpses into the past of strenuous manual labour, repeated risk of injury, and oral and skeletal infections. Mortality of infants was very high in the skeletal sample and the death certificates outlined the varied risks of infection and accidents they faced. Osteobiographies of seven well-preserved adults demonstrated the detailed narratives that can be gleaned from careful consideration of individuals. The skeletal record indicates childhood stress affecting growth and risk of injury prior to migration. However, the historical record suggests that occupational risks of death to the working class were similar in the new colony as at home. The snapshot of this Victorian-era population provided by these data suggests that the colonial society transported their biosocial landscape upon immigration and little changed for these initial colonists.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioarchaeology
• colonial
• osteobiography
• life-course
• Otago

Acknowledgements

Funding for the excavation was provided by a Grant-in-Aid from the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago. The ongoing analyses were funded by a Marsden Fund Grant awarded to HB and PP (18-UOO-028) and a University of Otago Research Grant. We are particularly grateful to Wayne Stevenson for the donation of his time and use of his digger, and Grant Love (the farmer) for the use of his haybarn, water supply and access to his land. This project is a collaboration between many individuals and groups. The TP60 group who instigated the work at St. Johns Cemetery and provided a vast amount of background research are Robert Findlay, Kath Croy, Isobel Michelle, Mary-Anne Miller and Rev. Vivienne Galletly. Other locals provided a great deal of support, including Dudley Finch and Geoff Finch. Bishop Kelvin Wright has supported the project wholeheartedly, and provided his permission for the excavation to be undertaken. Rachel Wesley of Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou provided Māori tikanga guidance, and participated in the excavation. Richard Walter and Phil Latham of the Otago Archaeology & Anthropology programme provided much of the excavation and field equipment. Lee Maher of Pacific Radiology for her assistance with radiography.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for the excavation was provided by a Grant-in-Aid from the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago. The ongoing analyses were funded by a Marsden Fund Grant awarded to HB and PP [18-UOO-028] and a University of Otago Research Grant.