“Up to 20 million possums a year were killed during the height of the fur trade, but this barely checked their rapid expansion.”

When possums were introduced in 1837 to start a fur industry, no one predicted that these Australian neighbours would naturalize with destructive enthusiasm, wreaking havoc on gardens and bush alike.

Not all introductions worked well. Rabbits were an unmitigated environmental disaster. Unchecked by any natural predator, they bred at a staggering rate and chewed their way across vast areas of pastureland as well as any garden that came their way.

Maize and pumpkin seeds were soaked in water for several days and then blackened with tar before planting – the most effective way to deter rats, mice and birds.

Attempts to control them by introducing ferrets, weasels and stoats did much more harm than good. Although these predators probably killed a reasonable number of rabbits, they also devastated populations of kiwi and raided the nests of flighted birds.

For those dependent on their gardens for fresh food, it was often a case of feast or famine… (One settler wrote), “Strawberries were now so plentiful that… I made 287 lbs of jam…”

Even where the land was more receptive, settlers soon learned to take some precautions before planting their vegetables.