Author(s): Erik Olssen et al

NZ History/Society

This is the first systematic analysis of the urban social structure in New Zealand. By focusing on the three major forms of mobility marital, work life, and intergenerational this work identifies the distinctive forms taken by the capitalist class structure in urban New Zealand during the formative historical period of 1890-1940. By placing the analysis deep within the context of a particular community Dunedin's southern suburbs this book also identifies in rich detail the complex occupational pathways, their meanings, and the way in which shifts in the mobility pattern both reflect and explain changes in political behaviour. This unique discovery provides the book with one of its most stimulating themes. The authors also develop a comparative theme, showing that New Zealand was more fluid than England, if not always as open as the United States. This analysis also underlines the importance of size and scale not only to this topic, but to sociology and history in general