The Early Days: The Nineteenth Century

In this chapter we explore the intentional communities founded or proposed in New Zealand in the nineteenth century. These include special settlements, which the governments in Britain and New Zealand encouraged as inducements to settlement; independent settlements that were established or proposed, including the movement for state farms to overcome poverty; and the first community that parallels the later communal movement, Wainoni, or The Federative Home, founded by Alexander Bickerton (1842-1929). Bickerton was a key figure in early New Zealand utopianism. He wrote a utopia, founded a community and proposed many other projects designed to improve the lives of nineteenth century New Zealanders.