Contributions
New Zealand offered Scots migrants the opportunity for a better life - and the chance to shape a new society.
The Scots, like all migrants, were a mixed bunch. But certain values marked them out as a group: a belief in education and equal opportunity for all, and a sense of personal and social responsibility.
Armed with these values, the Scots set about establishing in their new country the educational and scientific institutions that they had valued in the old. They focused their work ethic and commercial skills on the task of building profitable businesses and a solid infrastructure for the fast-developing country.
The Scots were also energetic players in the major debates of the times, including the debate about alcohol. They were on both sides of the argument, some vigorously against alcohol, others manufacturing it - legally or illegally.