How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
'Tunnels and railways,' Nilssen said, 'that's his game, isn't it? Progress, civilization, all of that. Strikes me that your thinking squares quite nicely with Lauderback's campaign' (I.4.161).
In that same conversation, Nilssen and Shepard continue talking about this notion of "civilizing" Hokitika for some time. It seems Shepard thinks the key is to build infrastructure, which is also Lauderback's plan, apparently.
Quote #8
'A homeward bounder is a chance for total reinvention, Mr. Nilssen,' he said at last. 'Find a nugget, and a man can buy his own life. That kind of promise isn't offered in the civil world' (I.4.233).
As Nilssen and Shepard end their conversation on this topic, Nilssen asks Shepard how the issue of Crosbie's fortune fits into all these ideas of the civilized and the savage, and Shepard caps off his thoughts with the observation that the immense promise that the goldfields hold for diggers essentially doesn't (and maybe even can't) exist in the "civil world." Put differently, that notion of being able to totally reboot your life can't happen in the regular old world, we guess.
Quote #9
'Tow-Faray is a noble savage of the first degree & we are fast becoming friends' (I.9.35).
Crosbie Wells writes this in a letter to his half-brother Alistair Lauderback. Even though he and Te Rau seem to have a genuine friendship, Crosbie refers to him as a "noble savage," which is pretty dehumanizing. However, he clearly thinks it's a compliment. Which is about as good a sign of the times as you can get.