‘Brogden’s Navvies’, was the common name given to men recruited in England as navvies (sing.
navvy) and employed by an English firm named Brogden & Sons contracted to the New Zealand Government to build New Zealand’s railway infrastructure. In 1872 a total of 2,172 men including families were dispatched in a total of fifteen ships to Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers and Bluff.
Researching an ancestor in this commercial-venture emigration group presents considerable challenges to genealogists in the past, with little cohesive documentary evidence and that dealing more with the scheme itself rather than those who took part. A recently-completed MA thesis by D. Blondell advances our knowledge of this group via a detailed appraisal of the Brogden scheme and the navvy culture. It also provides a list of over one thousand of these men and their families, some discussed in detail:
'A bright eye to the main chance': Brogdens' Navvies - British labourers building New Zealand's railways. Massey University (2020).
file:///C:/Users/House/Downloads/BLONDELLMAThesis.pdfTo quote in part from the abstract:
“Historians have generally regarded the group known as Brogdens' Navvies as part of a special settlement scheme, induced to migrate to provide essential labour. In 1872 British labourers were recruited to construct New Zealand's railway network. The contracting firm John Brogden and Sons became reluctant immigration agents so they could fulfil their agreement with the New Zealand Government for the massive and costly public works undertaking. Rollo Arnold, when studying English immigrants of the 1870s, argued that the navvies were largely from rural backgrounds thus desirable potential settlers. However, history has largely ignored their contribution to settlement as it was engulfed by the government assisted immigrants. Additionally, as their immigration was privately funded, there has been an information deficit about these men and their backgrounds.”The value of this thesis was revealed when I found not only the individual I was looking for, confirming that he did arrive per
Zealandia as I suspected, but also listed a family group connected to him and on the same voyage.
If anyone can contribute information about any of the individuals listed in the thesis, or provide the names of other Brogden’s Navvies, please reply to this topic.
The vessels carrying ‘Brogden’s Navvies’; https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Brogdens%27_Navvies#_note-11.
SchiehallionDeparted London, England, 13 April 1872
Arrived Wellington, 9 July 1872
Brogdens' people were transferred to the
Rangatirawhich arrived at Picton on 13th July 1872.
98 men, 14 women and 26 children;
Objective: To build the first railway in the Marlborough Province.
2.
HalcioneDeparted London, England, 20 April 1872
Arrived Wellington, 27 July 1872
Immigrants: Included 50 'Brogdens' Navvies'
3.
City of AucklandDeparted London, England, 31 May 1872
Arrived: Auckland, 4 September 1872
Immigrants: 299 passengers including 147 ‘Brogdens' Navvies' and their families.
4.
BallaratDeparted London, England, 13 June 1872
Arrived Napier, 15 September 1872
5.
BebingtonDeparted London, Gravesend, England, 28 June 1872
Arrived Wellington, 25 October 1872
6.
Lady JocelynDeparted: London, England, 31 July 1872
Arrived: Lyttelton, 11 November 1872
7.
Christian McAuslandDeparted Glasgow, Scotland, 5 September 1872
Arrived Port Chalmers, 5 December 1872
8.
ChileDeparted London, England, 12 September 1872
Arrived Napier, 28 December 1872
9.
Jessie ReadmanDeparted London, England, 22 September 1872
Arrived Wellington, 15 December 1872
10.
ZealandiaDeparted London, England, 5th October 1872
Arrived Bluff, 28 December 1872; Port Chalmers, 4 January 1873
Immigrants: Amongst the 232 passengers, 197 landed at the Bluff of which 184 were for 'Brogdens'.
(NOTE: Archives New Zealand’s Wellington office holds a passenger list for this voyage, however it only lists passengers who landed at Otago)
11.
CrusaderDeparted Glasgow, Scotland, 10th October 1872
Arrived Lyttelton, 5th January 1873
12.
Charlotte GladstoneDeparted London, England, 4 November 1872
Arrived Port Chalmers, 16 February 1873
13.
ForfarshireDeparted: London, England, 12 November 1872
Arrived: Wellington, 2 March 1873
Immigrants: Amongst the passengers 6 wives and 20 children of 'Brogdens' Navvies'.
14.
DurhamDeparted London, England, 29th November 1872
Arrived Auckland, 4th April 1873
15.
LutterworthDeparted Gravesend, London, England, 23 December 1872
Arrived Port Chalmers, 5 April 1873
Spades