Grand designs down under: utopias and urban projects in mid-nineteenth century New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Identified by utopian writers from the seventeenth until the nineteenth centuries as one of the last territories on Earth capable of being a potential paradise, the islands of New Zealand became the setting for a number of utopian schemes subsequent to their European discovery. The European colonization of the country in the mid-nineteenth century embodied many of the progressive ideals expressed in post-Enlightenment utopian texts, but followed an expedient capitalist settlement process honed during 300 years of British colonization practice. Late Victorian utopian writers challenged colonial reality with alternative ideas on land tenure systems, technological progress, governance and urban planning models. This paper will explore the dialogue between the utopian text and the planted community, to better understand the utopian influences on the design of colonial cities in nineteenth century New Zealand.