Age of enterprise : rediscovering the New Zealand entrepreneur, 1880-1910 / Ian Hunter.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 274-277) and index.

1. The entrepreneur -- 2. Seeds in the ground : 1820-1880 -- 3. Age of enterprise : 1880-1910 -- 4. The problem of origins -- 5. Attitudes to enterprise and industry -- 6. Social capital and immigrant entrepreneurship -- 7. Overcoming scarcity : capital and the entrepreneur -- 8. Pursuing innovation -- 9. Risk, persistence, and focus : a lifecycle of the entrepreneur -- 10. Conclusion : the unsung entrepreneur -- App. Entrepreneurs in case analysis.

"This important book, which covers an area little touched by traditional historians such as Sinclair, Belich, or King, shows how entrepreneurship and innovation transformed the New Zealand economy in the late nineteenth century. In particular it draws on case studies of entrepreneurs and historical evidence to reveal that the small, organic, rapidly expanding firm was a potent force in New Zealand's growth. Along the way, Ian Hunter discusses the so-called 'long depression' and offers a convincing argument that this crucial period in New Zealand's economic development was by no means as bleak as conventional histories would have it. By focusing on the shape of our economic history and its players Ian Hunter here fills a major gap in our knowledge of the colonial period."--BOOK JACKET.