A good servant but a tyrannous master: Gorse in New Zealand

A draft of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Western Social Science Association, in Fort Worth, Texas, 1999.

Abstract

The hedge plant gorse was introduced to New Zealand as a living fence and became a prominent feature of the landscape, particularly on the Canterbury Plains. Escaping from cultivation, gorse commenced its second life in New Zealand, that of a noxious weed troublesome to pastoral agriculture. In the twentieth century it came to be regarded as an invasive, exotic species that threatened indigenous plants and landscapes. Throughout its history in New Zealand, gorse, a highly significant element in the New Zealand environment, has been the object of ambivalent attitudes—a challenge to simplified conceptions of “native,” “exotic,” and “nature.”

Acknowledgements

The author extends thanks to Fulbright New Zealand for support of this work and to the Alexander Turnbull Library and its capable staff for hosting and assisting it.

Notes

A draft of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Western Social Science Association, in Fort Worth, Texas, 1999.