Story: Pets

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A surveyor's dog

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A musterer’s dog

Two surveyors and their dog warm themselves beside a campfire in this 1840s watercolour. Many 19th-century settlers brought animals with them, mainly to help with farm work. Dogs were essential for controlling sheep on unfenced runs. Over time, however, people came to treat many dogs as pets.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: B-155-010

by Edward Immyns Abbot

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Pets – History of pets in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/19735/a-surveyors-dog (accessed 17 February 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 1 March 2009.