Socialist Aotearoa is ‘carrying the flame’ of early socialists who settled here, I was told when I discovered a small book titled “Clarion Settlers” written by my great uncle W.R. Edge.  It is about the emigration of a group of settlers amongst whom were his parents who came to New Zealand from Birkenhead, Cheshire in England where his father worked for the London and NW Railway Co. A few years later it emerged that the grandparents of these settlers who were my ancestors were from Balbriggan, Dublin but had left in 1844 before the great famine as conditions worsened and inequality was dire, rents were extremely high and most of the food produced by farm laborers was sent away to England.

My great grandfather William Richard Edge, a Clarion Settler arrived in New Zealand in 1900 with his brother-in-law George Reed, his wife Jane and their three-month-old baby. He played a role in the socialist movement between 1900 and his death in 1909. Edge arrived aboard the Kumara as part of the Clarion Settlers group organized by William Ranstead. Prior to the turn of the century William Ranstead, part-owner of the Clarion newspaper had visited New Zealand in 1899 and was impressed by the country’s liberal land laws and social conditions. Ranstead then published articles in the Clarion promoting New Zealand as an ideal location for a socialist colony in late 1899 and 1900. These articles attracted interest from British artisans and working-class individuals seeking a better life.

William Ranstead brought the Clarion Settlers—also known as Clarionettes—to New Zealand aboard the Kumara in 1900 as part of a socialist inspired emigration initiative. His goal was to establish a model socialist community in New Zealand, reflecting the ideals promoted by the Clarion, a socialist newspaper he helped finance and direct in England. The Clarion was founded by Robert Blatchford and Alexander Thompson in 1891 and grew from a weekly publication based in Manchester to a more widespread newspaper having a central office in Fleet Street, London in in January 1895.

Blatchford also published a best-selling book called Merrie England based on the writings of Karl Marx but for a British audience. According to Blatchford the Seven Deadly Evils distressing workers were: Land monopoly, usury, universal suicidal business competition, unfair social conditions with unjust laws, base popular ideals, disorganised production and unjust distribution of wealth. Workers were urged to push for an 8-hour day, old age pensions in lieu of workhouses, improved housing, nationalisation of railways, banks, mines and lands required for state or municipal purposes. Mining royalties would be extinguished by taxation. Taxation on large incomes and on land should be increased.  Defence should be by a citizen army.  There should be improved education provided for working classes.

The settlers were working class Britons who had been influenced by the Clarion newspaper and its vision of a fairer, more cooperative society. Ranstead believed that New Zealand offered a promising environment for such a community, away from the industrial and class struggles of Britain. He personally organized and helped with funding the emigration of these settlers, hoping they would help build a new kind of society based on socialist and humanitarian principles. Interest was high as many were keen to resettle and establish a better life. Most of the group were from Merseyside and surrounding districts. The journey aboard the Kumara was both hopeful and challenging, with settlers sharing a strong commitment to their socialist ideals despite the uncertainty that awaited them.  The group’s initial meetings were filled with optimism as they discussed practical steps for establishing their community and supporting each other in the transition to their new lives. The settlers requested land with the aim of forming a cooperative farming settlement on common land. They were bitterly disappointed to be informed that land could only be provided to individuals and only by ballot. This made it more difficult for members to meet up so initially an office of the Clarion Fellowship was set up at 72 Ghuznee street, Wellington and newsletters were sent out to all members while local district and informal meetings began to be held. Although the idealistic community did not fully materialize as envisioned, many of the settlers, including Ranstead himself, went on to contribute significantly to New Zealand’s political landscape and community life.

The first group of Clarion Settlers (about 64 people) arrived in Wellington aboard the Kumara. They met with the Labour Department to discuss employment and settlement options. From 1901 the settlers dispersed across various regions including Petone, Waikato, Wanganui, Palmerston North and Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin integrating into local communities and promoting cooperative ideals.

From 1906 Ranstead turned his focus to farming and community development in Matangi, Waikato. He established Tainui Farm, one of the first farming associations under the Land Settlement Finances Act. Ranstead and his extended family continued to contribute to farming and community life in Matangi. His legacy includes strong involvement in education and local development. William Ranstead died in 1944 in Hamilton, survived by his wife and six children. His contributions to New Zealand’s social and agricultural landscape are still remembered.

William Edge settled in in Ngāruawāhia, Waikato. He was among the settlers who supported the founding of the first New Zealand Socialist Party, which was established in Wellington on 28 July 1901 and had as its objective a co-operative Commonwealth with collective ownership of land and all instruments of production, distribution and exchange.  Foundation members included William Edge, John Herrick, T.H. Baird, Laurence Diamond, W. Johnson, J.R. Jones, George Reed, Thomas Shamrocks, C.Slater, John Smith, Robert Stott and John Wild. William Edge’s untimely death on 29 July 1909 marked the end of his contributions, but his records and reflections continued to influence historical understanding of the settlers. His sons William and George Edge helped their widowed mother who was bridge-keeper at Bridge House, Ngāruawāhia. Later George trained as a teacher and William became a lawyer.  George remained lifelong friends with William Ranstead’s son John another prominent New Zealander, known for his work at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and his wide-ranging impact on agriculture in New Zealand.

As a founding member along with his brother-in-law George Reed, Edge was active in local socialist discussions and community development in Ngāruawāhia. Edge maintained correspondence with other settlers and socialist organizers. He compiled and documented the names and stories of Clarion settlers, which later became part of a booklet published posthumously in 1974 titled Clarion Settlers per Kumara, Wakanui, Tokomaru, Paparoa, and Rakaia in 1900. [natlib.govt.nz], [openlibrary.org] by his son William Edge. His writings helped preserve the legacy of the Clarion movement in New Zealand. He supported cooperative farming and labour rights, aligning with the broader goals of the Clarion movement.

The New Zealand Socialist Party was dissolved in 1913 and merged with the United Labour Party to form the Social Democratic Party of New Zealand. Paddy Webb, James McCombs and John Robertson the first socialist MP and grandfather of a current member of Socialist Aotearoa, formed the Social Democratic Caucus in Parliament. It was a turbulent time in New Zealand politics.  By 1916 the Social Democratic Party became the Labour Party which is still in existence.  As we again find ourselves at a time of great change it will serve us well to continue to fight for the principles of equality for all, socialism from below and to oppose the wasteful, irrational capitalist system which has alienated us from the natural world and from one another.