History, heritage, and colonialism: Historical consciousness, Britishness, and cultural identity in New Zealand, 1870–1940

290 Pages·2015·2.932 MB·English

by  Kynan Gentry

STUDIES IN IMPERIALISM STUDIES IN IMPERIALISM
General editor: Andrew S. thompson
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Founding editor: John M. MacKenzie
i History, heritage,
s
t
History, heritage, and colonialism offers an internationally relevant o
examination of the nexus between empire and colonial identity, by r
y
exploring the politics of history-making and interest in preserving the and colonialism
,
material remnants of the past in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth- h
century colonial society. It covers both indigenous pasts, and those of e
european origin. r
i
t Historical consciousness,
Focusing on new Zealand, but also looking at the Australian and a
Canadian experiences, it explores how different groups and political g
interests have sought to harness historical narrative in support of e Britishness, and cultural
,
competing visions of identity and memory. Considering this within the
a identity in New Zealand,
frames of the local and national as well as imperial, the book offers a
n
valuable critique of the study of colonial identity-making and colonial
d 1870–1940
cultures of colonisation, which to date have tended to focus almost

exclusively on the idea of ‘the nation’, and given particular weight c
o
to so-called ‘high’ cultural forms such as art, literature, and poetry.
l
History, heritage, and colonialism, by comparison, seeks to highlight o
KynA n Gentry
the complex network of separate and often-conflicting influences upon n
national identity, ranging from the individual, to the community, to i
a
the national, to the transnational. the study of colonial nationalism,
l
furthermore, needs to be understood in relation to the importance of i
s
identity in so-called ‘new nations’, where parallel to conscious efforts m
to establish legitimacy through the identification of a distinct heritage,
the cultural baggage of imperial ideologies typically saw settler societies
view themselves as countries ‘without history’.
Offering important insights for societies negotiating the legacy of a
colonial past in a global present, this book will be of particular value to
scholars and students of museum, heritage, and tourism studies, and
imperial history. It will also be of interest to a wider public interested in
heritage and the history of museums.
Kynan Gentry is a Lecturer in History at the Australian national University
G
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ISBN 978-0-7190-8921-3
9 780719 089213
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

General editor: Andrew S. Thompson
Founding editor: John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded
by Professor John M. MacKenzie more than twenty-five
years ago, emphasis was laid upon the conviction that
‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant
an effect on the dominant as on the subordinate societies’.
With well over a hundred titles now published, this
remains the prime concern of the series. Cross-disciplinary
work has indeed appeared covering the full spectrum of
cultural phenomena, as well as examining aspects of gender
and sex, frontiers and law, science and the environment,
language and literature, migration and patriotic societies,
and much else. Moreover, the series has always wished
to present comparative work on European and American
imperialism, and particularly welcomes the submission of
books in these areas. The fascination with imperialism, in
all its aspects, shows no sign of abating, and this series will
continue to lead the way in encouraging the widest possible
range of studies in the field. ‘Studies in Imperialism’ is fully
organic in its development, always seeking to be at the
cutting edge, responding to the latest interests of scholars
and the needs of this ever-expanding area of scholarship.
History, heritage, and colonialism
SELECTED TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES
WRITING IMPERIAL HISTORIES
ed. Andrew S. Thompson
MUSEUMS AND EMPIRE
Natural history, human cultures and colonial identities
John M. MacKenzie
MISSIONARY FAMILIES
Race, gender and generation on the spiritual frontier
Emily J. Manktelow
THE COLONISATION OF TIME
Ritual, routine and resistance in the British Empire
Giordano Nanni
BRITISH CULTURE AND THE END OF EMPIRE
ed. Stuart Ward
SCIENCE, RACE RELATIONS AND RESISTANCE
Britain, 1870–1914
Douglas A. Lorimer
GENTEEL WOMEN
Empire and domestic material culture, 1840−1910
Dianne Lawrence
EUROPEAN EMPIRES AND THE PEOPLE
Popular responses to imperialism in France, Britain, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany and Italy
ed. John M. MacKenzie
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
ed. Saul Dubow
History, heritage, and
colonialism
historical consciousness,
britishness, and cultural identity
in new zealand, 1870–1940
Kynan Gentry
MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © Kynan Gentry 2015
The right of Kynan Gentry to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
ALTRINCHAM STREET, MANCHESTER M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 8921 3 hardback
First published 2015
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any exter-
nal or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that
any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
Printed in Great Britain by
TJ International Ltd, Padstow
TJ International Ltdow
For Tommy

CONTENTS
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements x
List of abbreviations xii
Glossary of Maori terms xiii
Map of New Zealand xv
Introduction 1
1 Entangled objects: tourism and the exhibition of Maori
material culture 24
2 Throwing stones at Napoleon: Pakeha identity and the
preservation and neglect of Maori material culture 58
3 The art of forgetting: history, myth, and the New Zealand
Wars 93
4 History from below, or, When did parochialism become a
dirty word? 125
5 In pursuit of a national past: ‘New Zealand is putting her
historical house in order’ 159
6 New Zealand in context: history and heritage in late
nineteenth-century Canada and Australia 189
Conclusion 230
Select bibliography 235
Index 263
[ vii ]
LIST OF FIGURES
1 William Jenkins and the group of Maori he took to England
in 1863 (Ref: A-018–001, by permission of the Alexander
Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand) 25
2 New Zealand Department of Tourist and Health Resorts
poster (ca. 1920) advertising the Maori attractions of the
North Island’s thermal district (Ref: Eph-E-TOURISM-
1920s-01, by permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington, New Zealand) 30
3 Hongi at the inner pa at the New Zealand Exhibition,
Christchurch, ca. 1906–7 (Ref: 1/1–022026-G, by
permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington,
New Zealand) 40
4 The pataka Puawai-O-Te-Aroha at the Auckland Museum,
1905 (Ref: 1/1-007041-G, by permission of the Alexander
Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand) 68
5 The Maori Hall at the new Dominion Museum in Buckle
Street, Wellington, ca. 1936 (Ref: 1/1-003855-G, by
permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington,
New Zealand) 72
6 Interior view of the premises of Thomson & Co., aerated
water and cordial manufacturers in Dunedin, ca. 1920. (Ref:
APG-1028-1/2-G, by permission of the Alexander Turnbull
Library, Wellington, New Zealand) 79
7 Makereti Papakura seated in the carved wooden doorway
of Te Rauru meeting house, ca. 1905-10 (Ref: 1/1-006417-G,
by permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington, New Zealand) 81
8 Moutoa Gardens memorial ‘to the heroes of the Battle of
Moutoa’ in 1868. (Ref: PA1-f-027-12-2, by permission of the
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand) 95
9 A depiction of an incident at the Battle of Gate Pa, 1864,
where Wiremu Taratoa ran a calabash of water to his
mortally wounded enemy Lieutenant Colonel Booth
(Auckland Weekly News, Christmas number, 14 December
1895) 102
10 The reconstructed (in concrete) look-out tower of the
Manaia Redoubt, ca. 1930 (Ref: APG-1681-1/2-G, by
[ viii ]