shagroon

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


When the province of Canterbury,in New Zealand, was first settled, the men who came fromEngland were called Pilgrims, all others Shagroons, probably a modification of the Irishword Shaughraun.

1877. W. Pratt, `Colonial Experiences of Incidents ofThirty-four Years in New Zealand,' p. 234:

«In the `Dream of a Shagroon,' which bore the date Ko Matinau,April 1851, and which first appeared in the `WellingtonSpectator' of May 7, the term `Pilgrim' was first applied tothe settlers; it was also predicted in it that the `Pilgrims'would be `smashed' and the Shagroons left in undisputedpossession of the country for their flocks and herds.»