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A history of life and death (to 1940)
Alistair Woodward
• The long long story
• At the time of Cook’s arrival
• Māori to 1940
• Non-Māori to 1940
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-8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000 0 1000 2000
Life expectancy at birth, 8000 BC to the present
Maghreb, N Africa, 8000 BC 20-25
year
Life expectancy
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-8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000 0 1000 2000
Greek colonies 2000 BC, approx 30
Life expectancy at birth, 8000 BC to the present
Maghreb, N Africa 20-25
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10
20
30
40
50
60
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-8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000 0 1000 2000
Greek colonies 2000 BC, approx 30
China 100-1700, 30-35
Life expectancy at birth, 8000 BC to the present
Maghreb, N Africa 20-25
6
0
10
20
30
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50
60
70
80
1766 1786 1806 1826 1846 1866 1886 1906 1926 1946 1966 1986 2006
Best country in the world Male
Best country in the world Female Non-Māori Male
Non-Māori Female
Māori Male
Māori Female
England & Wales Male
England & Wales Female
A history of life expectancy in NZ: up to 1940
Buckley et al. The people of the Wairau Bar: a re-examination. J Pacific Archaeology 2010
On the basis of estimated ages of death, and assumptions about fertility – average life expectancy may have been 19-27 years prior to Cook’s arrival
Life expectancy of modern hunter-gatherers in the low 30s; similar to survival in Sweden in late 18th century
Arthur Saunders Thomson. Observations on the Stature, Bodily Weight, Magnitude of Chest, and Physical Strength of the New Zealand Race of Men. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 23 (1853), pp. 87-93
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1766 1786 1806 1826 1846 1866 1886 1906 1926 1946 1966 1986 2006
Best country in the world Male
Best country in the world Female Non-Māori Male
Non-Māori Female
Māori Male
Māori Female
England & Wales Male
England & Wales Female
A history of life expectancy in NZ: up to 1940
Adaptation to new disease regime Expansion of primary education New opportunities for women Greater involvement of communities in public health interventions Improvements in housing, sanitation and infant feeding Adoption of western technologies, treatments and explanations for illness Enabling legislation Leadership
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1766 1786 1806 1826 1846 1866 1886 1906 1926 1946 1966 1986 2006
Best country in the world Male
Best country in the world Female Non-Māori Male
Non-Māori Female
Māori Male
Māori Female
England & Wales Male
England & Wales Female
A history of life expectancy in NZ: up to 1940
The spirit of the colonists was proved by their precipitating themselves into an untried state of existence, known to be beset with difficulties. They were almost all energetic men; the timid, the lazy and the sickly having remained in the old country.
New Zealand mortality 20-30% lower than Australia 1861-1895 Coghlan 1896 A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia
“there are no materials among the civil population for proving their healthfulness, except the sickness and mortality among the soldiers stationed in the colony” Thomson, A. S. (1859). The story of New Zealand. Past and present - savage and civilized. London, John Murray.
Around 1850, mortality among the British troops in New Zealand was a third that reported in Britain
“We had come to a land without scarceness. We had no luxuries, but abundance of wholesome food” Jane Bannerman (Dunedin settlement)
http://www.kapiticoastlibraries.govt.nz/History%20timeline.php
Christchurch about 1870. Fewer than 20,000 people with plenty of elbow room - the low urban densities were deliberate
GDP and life expectancy
19
$400
$4,000
$40,000
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
GDP
(log scale)
Norway
Sweden
UK
Australia
New
Zealand
USA
Finland
Japan
South
Korea
-1.0
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
-2.0% -1.0% 0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0%
Fiv
e y
ear
cha
ng
es i
n l
ife
exp
ecta
ncy
(n
on
-Māori)
Annual average % change in GDP, centred on census
years
Change in GDP by change in life expectancy, NZ
Males
Females
20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1766 1786 1806 1826 1846 1866 1886 1906 1926 1946 1966 1986 2006
Best country in the world Male
Best country in the world Female Non-Māori Male
Non-Māori Female
Māori Male
Māori Female
England & Wales Male
England & Wales Female
A history of life expectancy in NZ: up to 1940
