Stoats & Weasels

Correspondence 83/845 - dated 17-12-83

Further as to payment of passage money on a/c of Metcalf & Albone who came out in “Waitangi” in charge of Stoats & Weasels.

Rabbits were introduced to New Zealand in the first half of the 1800s, largely as a source of food and fur.  However rabbits, having no natural enemies here and with plenty of food, bred like, well, rabbits.  By the 1870s rabbits had completely overrun parts of Otago and Southland and land owners tried all sort of methods to curb the population.

A great history of the rabbit in New Zealand can be found in the book “Exotic Intruders” by Joan Druett.  A digital version of this book is available to read on the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre website.   http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-DruExot-t1-body1-d9.html

Unfortunately for New Zealand’s fauna, one control method used was the introduction of a rabbit’s natural enemies – ferrets, stoats and weasels.

In January 1883 Mr F D Rich of Bushy Park, Palmerston, Otago, was visiting England and while there he organised a shipment of stoats, weasels, polecats and ferrets (and 500 pigeons for food) to be sent to NZ on account of a number of Otago landholders, including Mr John Cargill and Mr J C Buchland.  Mr Rich hired an experienced rabbiter to take charge of the shipment, and then engaged a second young man to cover in case of illness.  Mr Rich believed he had an agreement with the Agent General that the two young men would have free passage to NZ in exchange for also taking responsibility for a Government shipment of 50 ferrets that were to be sent on the same ship.

The two young men, William Albone and J Metcalf, travelled out to Port Chalmers, Otago, on the Waitangi with the animals, though the 50 ferrets which made up the Government consignment weren’t shipped with them.

The correspondence file relates to the costs of the passages of these two men.  Mr Rich believed that they were to be granted free passage in return for working as stockmen looking after the shipment.  However the NZ Shipping Company started pursuing Mr Rich for payment of their passage.  Mr Rich then wrote to the Department of Immigration who investigated the situation.  The Department found that there had been no formal agreement to supply free passage, however investigations showed that the men had actually been listed as crew members on the ship’s articles, working their passage at the rate of 1/ per month.  They had no contract tickets and as such, could not be classed as “passengers”, meaning that the NZ Shipping Company had no right to make a claim for money from Mr Rich.

The correspondence file doesn’t make clear what eventually happened to the passage costs for Mr Albone and Mr Metcalf.  Their charges, and others brought to NZ by various parties, caused devastation to the native wildlife here though this consequence had been forseen by some who had advised strongly against their introduction.  http://bit.ly/1cUDbSM

William Albone didn’t stay in NZ and headed back to the UK on the ship Tongariro.  What became of Mr J Metcalf is not known.

Personally, I feel sorry for the pigeons.