No Idle Rich: The Wealthy in Canterbury and Otago, 1840-1914

Wealth and power in a colonial society is the subject of this book. It is a detailed study of the richest settlers in southern New Zealand, where the country's earliest fortunes were made, mostly by pastoral farmers and financiers. Who where the rich? Not born gentlemen, the author shows, but astute and innovative capitalists, generally from relatively humble origins, Drawing on innovative research using wills, business papers and biographical sources, he investigates how they made their money, the significance of family relationships and the role of women, the influence of the rich on national and local politics, and how they justified and maintained their position.