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Journey to New Edinburgh

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175 years ago, on March 23 1848, the immigrant ship John Wickliffe arrived at Koputai Port Chalmers carrying 97 settlers from England, Scotland and Ireland looking to make a new life in what we now know as Ōtepoti Dunedin.

Developed by Toitū Otago Settlers Museum with support from the Otago Settlers Association, this documentary series traces the footsteps of Otago’s early European pioneers from its genesis in Scotland through to the challenging realities the settlers faced when they arrived.  The preview presents just the first chapter of this extraordinary story, with more to follow.

Episode 1: Genesis

Setting the scene for the Otago story, this episode looks at how the idea first emerged for a Scottish and Presbyterian settlement in the South Island of New Zealand.

Episode 2: An Ideal Settlement 1843-48

Holding out for an idealised vision of an exclusively Free Church colony at Dunedin, Cargill and Burns struggled to get their concept over the line. But in late 1847 there was a breakthrough and the first ships finally set sail for Otago.

Episode 3: Pilgrims

What was it like to step ashore in Dunedin in 1848?

Enormous challenges lay ahead for these pioneers and not everyone had what it took. But for those who did, great opportunities to make a new life beckoned.

Episode 4: Big players Little enemy

Steady progress in building Dunedin from the ground up came to a sudden halt with the collapse of the New Zealand Company and Otago Association. Criticism of the Free Church leadership also saw the embryonic settlement plagued by bitter sectarian disputes. Meanwhile, some adventurous newcomers explored the rugged Otago interior.

Episode 5: Making it work

With the establishment of a provincial government in 1853, things slowly got back on track. Immigration was revived on a much-expanded scale and surveying and mapping began to open up Otago’s vast inland areas for closer settlement.

Episode 6: The coming of the Highlanders

To begin with, Otago was settled by Scots who were overwhelmingly from the Lowlands. In the mid-1850s, however, as a new economic focus on pastoral farming developed, Highlanders came into their own. Their specialised skills in sheep management were now in high demand.

Episode 7: The greening of the south

Scottish Presbyterian Otago offered scant welcome for Irish Catholics. But somehow, they arrived anyway, gradually expanding in numbers and offering a new ‘green’ tinge to the southern population even before the gold rushes.

Episode 8: A new breed

As the profits from grass and gold offered unprecedented levels of provincial prosperity in the 1860s, the dream of an exclusively Free Church colony in Otago was finally laid to rest. The Scottish and Presbyterian roots endured, however, and ensured that Otago and Southland would remain New Zealand’s historic Scottish heartland.