RANGAHAU
Tuhinga Poto
SHORTER Papers
Keith Sinclair and the History of Humanitarianism
Philippa Wyatt, ‘Keith Sinclair and the History of Humanitarianism’, New Zealand Journal of History, vol 54, no 2 (2020), pp 1-19.
Keith Sinclair was a leading New Zealand historian of the 1950s-80s era who wrote a best selling history of New Zealand and an important work on the 1860s New Zealand wars. In this important article, Philippa Wyatt reviews Sinclair’s argument that New Zealand had ‘better’ race relations than other white settler colonies because of the early influence of Christian humanitarianism on the early period of the colony, including on the Treaty of Waitangi. While Sinclair critiqued the ‘failures’ of humanitarianism in preventing the 1860s wars, he affirmed (and Wyatt essentially agrees with him) that the Christian-inspired ideology of the equality of Māori and European had set New Zealand on a different, ‘exceptional’ path from other colonizing zones. (Made available with permission of the author and the NZJH.)
The Waikato War in Historical Memory
Vincent O’Malley, ‘Recording the Incident with a Monument’:
The Waikato War in Historical Memory, Journal of New Zealand Studies, vol 19, 2015, pp 79-97.
This paper charts changing perceptions of the Waikato War in national memory and consciousness. The recent sesquicentenary passed by most New Zealanders largely unnoticed. Historical memories of the war that once (in part thanks to James Cowan) fed into larger nation-building narratives cut across them today. A century ago it was possible for Pākehā to believe that the Waikato War had given birth to fifty years of peace and that mutual respect forged in battle had provided the basis for “race relations” of unparalleled harmony. By the 1970s such a notion could no longer be sustained, leaving a kind of uncomfortable silence about one of the decisive events in New Zealand history.
Embedding the apology in the nation’s identity
Danielle Celermajer and Joanna Kidman, ‘Embedding the Apology in the Nation’s Identity’, Journal of the Polynesian Society, vol 121, no 3 (2012), pp 219-242.
Danielle Celermajer and Joanna Kidman published in 2012 this thought-provoking and much-needed analysis on the challenges facing reconciliation/social-historical cohesion in both New Zealand and Australia. (Used with permission of the authors and the Journal of the Polynesian Society.)
God’s Own Silence
John Stenhouse, ‘God’s Own Silence. Secular Nationalism, Christianity and the Writing of New Zealand History’ (2004).
‘God’s Own Silence. Secular Nationalism, Christianity and the Writing of New Zealand History’, New Zealand Journal of History, 38, 1 (2004). (Used by permission of the author and NZJH.)
Clapham & the Treaty of Waitangi
Peter McKenzie, ‘Clapham and the Treaty of Waitangi’ (2010)
Peter McKenzie QC shows how the ‘second generation’ Clapham-ites influenced the Treaty of Waitangi. He also canvasses the question of translation. A fine summary. Published in Stimulus, vol 18, no 4, 2010 (used with permission).
Christianity NZ Bicentenary Statement
A small committee prepared a short statement in early 2014 to mark 200 years of the Christian Gospel in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was an attempt to assess the nature and contribution of Christianity to this country since Ruatara invited Marsden to establish the first mission and Pakeha settlement in NZ. It contains a concise historical narrative and some acknowledgements and affirmations.
He rangi tā Matawhāiti, he rangi tā Matawhānui: Looking towards 2040
Māmari Stephens, ‘He rangi tā Matawhāiti, he rangi tā Matawhānui’, in Mark Hickford and Carwyn Jones, eds., Indigenous Peoples and the State: International Perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019): 186-195.
In this piece, Māmari Stephens describes the various ways the treaty is understood, considers different proposals for constitutional change, and argues for a relational understanding of the treaty or a ‘civic form of whanaungatanga’ as the only real foundation for substantial constitutional reform. (Made available with permission of the author.)
A Loving Excavation: Uncovering the Constitutional Culture of the Māori Demos
Māmari Stephens, ‘A Loving Excavation: Uncovering the Constitutional Culture of the Māori Demos’ (October 1, 2013). New Zealand Universities Law Review 25(4):820-843.
This article argues that there is also a distinctive and constantly evolving Māori constitutional culture with values directly relevant to the New Zealand constitution. This culture is discoverable by way of textual and linguistic evidence for 19th and 20th century Māori political practices. This paper presents some limited linguistic evidence about the certain highly prominent terms that have a notable presence in a set of constitutionally relevant Māori language texts derived from the Legal Māori Corpus, a large body of Māori language texts from between 1828 and 2009. Using such primary information and as further secondary research, this article identifies particular Māori attitudes as to how the exercise of civic decision-making ought to be carried out. (Made available with permission of the author.)
The Historicity of the Doctrine of Discovery in New Zealand’s Colonisation
Paul Moon, ‘The Historicity of the Doctrine of Discovery in New Zealand’s Colonisation’. Te Kaharoa, vol. 15, 2022, ISSN 1178-6035
Over the last two decades, claims that the Doctrine of Discovery (based on a 1493 papal bull) had some bearing on New Zealand’s colonisation have been gaining force in academic and popular literature, with a nexus emerging between historical and legal analyses of its purported role in British intervention in the country from the eighteenth century. This article explores the bases for these claims, and introduces a distinction between functionalist and intentionalist approaches to interpreting Britain’s colonisation of New Zealand as a means of contextualising and accounting for the explanatory appeal of the Doctrine as a first cause of New Zealand’s colonisation.