The records of two large stock and station agents, Loan & Mercantile Agency in Dunedin and Wright Stephenson in Invercargill, allowed us to track the timing, nature, magnitude and rate of landscape change in southern New Zealand between 1896 and 1920. This period extends from the final years of subdivision of large estates, and includes closer settlement, the shift from pastoral farming to intensive agriculture, growth of dairying, and increasing mechanisation of agriculture. These changes are reflected in clients’ annual expenditures on capital items such as fencing and building materials, tools and implements, materials for drains.

中文翻译：

---

新西兰南部景观变化的推动者，1896-1920

达尼丁的 Loan & Mercantile Agency 和因弗卡吉尔的 Wright Stephenson 两家大型股票和车站代理商的记录使我们能够跟踪 1896 年至 1920 年新西兰南部景观变化的时间、性质、幅度和速率。这一时期从大庄园细分的最后几年，包括更紧密的定居点、从畜牧业向集约化农业的转变、乳制品业的发展以及农业机械化程度的提高。这些变化反映在客户在资本项目上的年度支出，例如围栏和建筑材料、工具和器具、排水管材料。