William Wentworth who claimed he had bought the South Island for a few hundred pounds in 1840 Photo: courtesy cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.
New Zealand has experienced rampant property speculation during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. This has helped to cause a housing crisis and possibly locked a generation out of home ownership.
Why was this allowed to happen?
Our regular historian, Grant Morris says the most important reason can be found by examining New Zealand's history.
