The Vogel Era
The Vogel Era describes the history of New Zealand between 1873 and 1876, when the country adopted an immigration and public works scheme inaugurated by the colonial treasurer, then premier, Julius Vogel to develop the country and to relieve the slump of the late 1860s; to be financed by borrowing overseas.
His "Great Public Works Policy" resulted in a large increase in migrants and provision of many new railways, roads and telegraph lines.
Julius Vogel, the premier and colonial treasurer, appreciated that settlement was confined to coastal lands because of inadequate transport, and ("before Lord Keynes was born") propounded a "grand go-ahead policy" to dispel the slump with increased government expenditure on contracts so increasing the community's purchasing power.
[7] Vogel went to England where he borrowed £1 or £2 million at 5%; and arranged contracts with the British firm of John Brogden and Sons.
[8] A new Public Works Department was set up in 1870, headed as minister by the Hon William Gisborne, who was replaced by John Davies Ormond in 1871.
The engineer selected by Vogel was John Carruthers, a Scot who had worked on railways in Canada, America, Russia, Mauritius and Egypt.
[11] Eventually the worldwide Long Depression of the late 1870s affected New Zealand, with a downturn in 1879, with bad harvests and low prices for wheat and wool.
Lines were constructed with lightweight track, steep gradients, tight curves and light wooden bridges.
[16][18][19] Charles Rous-Marten writing in the English Railway Magazine in 1899, described the decision to use a narrow gauge in New Zealand as a grevious and irrepairable blunder.
But some 1000 miles (1604 km) of railways had been opened within seven years, and in 1878 the first inter-city route, complete with stylish American-built locomotives was ready to go into operation (The Main South Line, Christchurch-Dunedin-Invercargill).
Vogel had contracted John Brogden and Sons of England to construct six lines, for land as well as cash and the right to bring out 10,000 immigrants or "navvies".
[22] However, the new NZR chief mechanical engineer Allison D. Smith believed that American locomotives would be preferable for the light track used.
The London agent-general's consulting engineer, R. M. Brereton, obtained opinions from two English firms Neilson and the Vulcan Foundry: both agreed that British locomotives were "excessively rigid" and that there was "absurd conservatism" in this country.
Brereton said in his letter that: So the first American locomotives were the NZR K class (1877) with two batches from Rogers of New Jersey, ordered through New York consulting engineer Walton Evans.
[28] There was criticism that the cottages were a waste of money,[29] remained empty,[30] were occupied by people unsuited to the work available,[31] or were in the wrong places.
