Native Bird Protection, National Identity and the Rise of Preservation in New Zealand to 1914
Author(s)
Star, Paul
Abstract
A significant cultural shift took place in the three decades before 1914 as non-Maoris (both native-born and immigrants) came to value the indigenous fauna and flora, especially birds, which came to be seen as deserving of protection and as symbols of an emerging national identity. Among others, the reasons include the rapid clearing of forests and the consequent destruction of bird habitat in addition to the enhancement of New Zealandness at the expense of Britishness.
