Philippa Werry is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction for children. She is well known for history books including Anzac Day and Best Mates, and Oratia published her picture book The Water Bottle in April 2022. She lives in Wellington.

Introduction 5 Maori Discovery and Migration 8 The first arrivals 8 Adapting to a new land 11 Internal migrations and displacement 13 First encounters, pre-1840 14 Explorers, whalers and sealers 14 Traders and missionaries 17 'Britain of the South' 19 1840s: The New Zealand Company 19 Soldiers and surveyors 23 1870s: Julius Vogel's Public Works and Immigration Scheme 25 Changing the landscape 27 Scandinavian foresters 27 Dalmatian gum diggers 29 Scottish shepherds 31 prejudice and discrimination 34 Anti-Chinese legislation 36 The permit system 38 Other legislation 39 Aliens 40 The disabled 41 The White New Zealand League 42 more 19th-century arrivals 43 Chinese migrants 43 War times 46 Indian migrants 48 German migrants 51 in the Shadow of war 54 Jewish and war-time refugees 54 The Polish children 55 British child migrants 57 Chinese orphans 58 War brides 59 Cold War refugees 60 New Opportunities 64 Ten Pound Poms 64 Austria 64 Italy 66 Greece 68 The Netherlands 70 Maori migration to the cities 71 Pasifika peoples 77 Escaping Danger 80 Refugees and asylum seekers 80 1987 to today 88 Immigration Act 1987 88 Migrant workers 89 Colombo Plan and other students 90 The impact of Covid-19 on migration 92 Celebrating Diversity 93 Conclusion 98 Index 100