Hauraki Plains Story

“What was a few years ago a useless swamp, always subject to continuous flooding, is now being converted into a richly settled district, with the probability of it shortly becoming a great dairying country.” - R. W. Harris, “Land drainage and river control,” in Hauraki Plains Story, ed. Rufus Tye (Paeroa: Thames Valley News Ltd, 1974), 82-83. 

The language used is so maddening. This is the language used right from the time of Cook and Bank's trip up the Waihou River on Cook's first visit. They came from a country that was embracing the industrial revolution, and the control of nature by man. The Industrial Revolution marked a period when the production of goods shifted from being handcrafted to machine-based. It is commonly accepted to have occurred between approximately 1760 and 1840.

The same language was used to introduce laws like the Wasteland Act - land that was not 'used' was waste, without regard for how that land was used - food basket, transport and more.