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Physical Stature In Nineteenth‐Century New Zealand: A Preliminary Interpretation

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  • Kris Inwood
  • Les Oxley
  • Evan Roberts

Abstract

During the late nineteenth century, the physical stature of New Zealand‐born men stagnated, despite an apparently beneficial public health environment and growth in per‐capita incomes. We examine trends and differentials in male stature through World War I enlistment and casualty records. Stature varied by social class, with professionals and men in rural occupations substantially taller than their peers. There is not enough evidence to show that the indigenous Maori population differed in height from men of European descent. Stagnation in stature in late nineteenth‐century New Zealand is consistent with patterns observed in Australia, North America, and Western Europe.

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  • Kris Inwood & Les Oxley & Evan Roberts, 2010. "Physical Stature In Nineteenth‐Century New Zealand: A Preliminary Interpretation," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(3), pages 262-283, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:50:y:2010:i:3:p:262-283
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8446.2010.00305.x
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    Cited by:

    1. John Cranfield & Kris Inwood & Les Oxley & Evan Roberts, 2017. "Long-Run Changes in the Body Mass Index of Adults in Three Food-Abundant Settler Societies: Australia, Canada and New Zealand," Working Papers in Economics 17/15, University of Waikato.
    2. Geoffrey Brooke & Lydia Cheung, 2019. "Body Sizes in Nineteenth Century New Zealand: An Empirical Investigation using the NZ Contingents in the Second Boer war," Working Papers 2019-05, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    3. Jean-Pascal Bassino & Marion Dovis & John Komlos, 2018. "Biological well-being in late nineteenth-century Philippines," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 12(1), pages 33-60, January.
    4. Jean-Pascal Bassino & Marion Dovis & John Komlos, 2015. "Biological Well-Being in Late 19th Century Philippines," NBER Working Papers 21410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Kris Inwood & Evan Roberts, 2010. "Longitudinal Studies Of Human Growth And Health: A Review Of Recent Historical Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(5), pages 801-840, December.
    6. Roberts, Evan & Wood, Pamela, 2014. "Birth weight and adult health in historical perspective: Evidence from a New Zealand cohort, 1907–1922," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 154-161.

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