File:Hunter and moose, New Zealand, date unknown (25553545584).jpg

On 9 April 1910 a cargo of Canadian moose “in splendid condition” were landed at Supper Cove in Fiordland.

The 4 stags and 6 hinds had travelled from Canada to Hobart. When they reached New Zealand they were quarantined on Somes Island before being sent to Fiordland by government steamer. The Union Steam Ship Company supported the venture, providing the moose with free passage on their journey south. This was the second shipment of moose from Vancouver, the first cargo having been sent about 10 years previously. The Tourist Department had organised this as part of their campaign to stock New Zealand’s wilderness with wild game animals for trophy hunters. Their efforts led to ecological disaster as many deer species acclimatised all too successfully and decimated native flora.

The Tourist Department officials who had participated so enthusiastically in this campaign were lauded by most at the time. Immigrants who had come to New Zealand from the United Kingdom had left a land where game hunting was for the landed and elite while in New Zealand it was now available to all. General Manager of the Tourist Department Thomas Donne was well satisfied with his efforts writing that “Nature neglected New Zealand in providing game animals; man has remedied the omission.” Not everyone admired him though. A newspaper editorial went as far as to suggest Donne should be jailed for bringing “wild beasts” into the country.

Shown here is a hunter with a Fiordland moose. The moose did not acclimatise successfully and the department was roundly criticised for liberating healthy animals in an unsuitable environment and leaving them to starve.

AAQA 6393 H1054

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