Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti: Fijian Language Week 2022

Fijian Language Week is Sunday 2 October – Saturday 8 October 2022. This is a chance to celebrate the Fijian language and culture in New Zealand and around the world!

This year the theme is: “Me vakabulabulataki, vakamareqeti, ka vakaqaqacotaki na vosa vakaviti. | Nurture, preserve and sustain the Fijian language.” Read more on our Kids’ Blog

Continue reading “Macawa ni Vosa Vakaviti: Fijian Language Week 2022”

Get The London Times that was printed on your birthday! (or your Mum’s!)

The Central Library is offering to library members its hard-copy vintage collection of The Times, dating from 1946 through to the start of 1976.  Each issue is for sale at $5 per copy but there is only one copy of each date. Please note that this collection excludes the Sunday Times which was, and remains, a separate newspaper editorially

This is an ideal quirky gift for anyone born between 1946 and 1976; please pre-order your copy by visiting or phoning the 2nd floor reference desk at the Central Library on 04 801 4114.

Major historical and cultural events covered during this period include:

The moon landing in July 1969
The resignation of President Nixon in August 1974
Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman at ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Zaire, October 1974

You can still access and read this entire date-range of The Times for free via the Times Digital Archive on My Gateway.

Just in time for Christmas, come in, grab a copy and delve into the past.

Remember Parihaka in 2018

The place I have measured out shall remain sacred for my people… I tell the assembled tribes that they shall not be lost.” – Te Whiti-o-Rongomai [1]

A kuia once showed me a piece of pounamu wrapped up underneath black netting. The opulence of the stone was obvious, but it was partially obscured by its binding. She told me that the stone represents Parihaka. The 19th century Parihaka story is one of New Zealand’s most important historical narratives, yet it is still under-recognised. Parihaka today is one of the most important communities in New Zealand, so it is crucial to become aware of its ongoing contributions, ambitions and significance.

The story of Parihaka is centred in Taranaki, but the struggles and trials of its people covered much of the length of the country. In this blog post we will focus on the places in Wellington entwined with the history of the people of Parihaka, and take a look at the ways Wellingtonians can recognise and remember Parihaka this year.

Josiah Martin, ‘Parihaka’ – Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (1880) https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/8060

During the 1860s, the prophets Te Whiti and Tohu rose to national prominence among Māori. They were recognised as “the two birds of knowledge” by King Tawhiao. [2] Their community at Parihaka became a haven for Māori, and a place of peaceful resistance to unlawful land confiscation and encroaching settlement. One of those that found their home at Parihaka was Titokowaru, the great military leader of the Māori forces in the Taranaki War of 1868 – 1869. Titokowaru laid down his gun, and took up the plough and the raukura (albatross feather, symbol of peace).

Te Whiti, Tohu, and also Titokowaru led a peaceful campaign of resistance that consisted of ploughing up confiscated land, removing surveying pegs and placing fencing. In response, the government arrested the successive waves of protestors. On 5 November 1881, Parihaka was invaded by a military force of 1600 armed constabulary. Those Māori who were not originally from the Parihaka area were scattered, the buildings were damaged, violence was inflicted against the people and their leaders were arrested. Te Whiti and Tohu were held without trial for two years, before returning home in 1883.

The community Te Whiti and Tohu nurtured still thrives today. It is a place for reconciliation. It is a place to contemplate where we have been and where we are going. Recently, in 2016, the Mayor of New Plymouth, Andrew Judd, led a hikoi walk of peace from New Plymouth to Parihaka.[3]

Memorial Plaque at Pukeahu War Memorial Park dedicated to Taranaki Prisoners

Prisoners in Mt. Cook

In 1879, 195 arrested ploughmen were held in the Mt. Cook Police Barracks. The peaceful protesters were never tried. Instead, they were shipped to the South Island, to take them further away from the influence of Te Whiti. Government legislation enabled indefinite detainment without trial or punishment. But, ploughmen were put to work on infrastructure in the South Island.[4]

The Prophet in Wellington

In the mid-1880s, there was discontent among coastal Māori, around policy on land the government leased from them. They were especially concerned with the large surveying costs that were deducted from the rent due to them.[5] Māori also desired the return of the lands unlawfully confiscated from them.[6]

In 1886, Te Whiti sent men to plough some of the confiscated land. In response, the government arrested Te Whiti and other leaders. After trial in New Plymouth, Te Whiti, Titokowaru and eight others were sent to Wellington aboard the Hinemoa.[7] Te Whiti was held in the Terrace Gaol for two and a half months before his Supreme Court trial.[8] Te Whiti appeared before Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast, the same Chief Justice who called the Treaty of Waitangi a “simple nullity” in 1877.[9] Te Whiti maintained that he had merely entered onto his own land.

Te Whiti was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined £100.[10] While in prison, Te Whiti was frequently visited by Taare Waitara, a rich Atiawa part-European landowner from Wellington. Waitara married Te Whiti’s daughter and helped develop Parihaka with his finances.[11] Te Whiti’s return journey to Parihaka was “leisurely” and “royal” as he passed through Waikanae , Otaki and Whanganui.[12]

Te Whiti remained an advocate for Māori land rights and peace until his death in 1907.

The memorial outside the Dominion Museum

A Place to Remember

At Pukeahu War Memorial Park, on the north-west corner of the old Dominion Museum building, there is a memorial dedicated to the people of Taranaki and Parihaka who were imprisoned in the Mount Cook barracks. The memorial represents a prisoner wrapped up in a blanket. The base of the monument is formed of stones from Taranaki. As you wander through the city, this is the perfect spot to take a moment to reflect on the Parihaka history of struggle and on the legacy of peace.

Event:  

Bridget Williams Books Winter Series: Parihaka: Plunder and Aftermath with Hon. Mahara Okeroa and Dr. Rachel Buchanan

Monday 5 November, 6:00 – 7:20 pm (doors open 5.30 pm)

National Library of New Zealand, Corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets, Thorndon, Wellington

Join Taranaki kaumātua and Treaty negotiator Hon. Mahara Okeroa (Taranaki, Te Ātiawa) and Dr. Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki, Te Ātiawa), author of BWB Text Ko Taranaki Te Maunga, at the National Library for the anniversary of te pāhuatanga, the invasion of Parihaka.

Recommended Reading:

Ko Taranaki te maunga by Rachel Buchanan

Ask that Mountain: the story of Parihaka by Dick Scott

Te Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka by Danny Keenan

Parihaka : The Art of Passive Resistance

[1] G. W. Rusden History of New Zealand (Melville, Mullen and Slade: 1895), p.218. quoted in Bernard Gadd, ‘The Teachings of Te Whiti O Rongomai, 1831-1907,’ The Journal of the Polynesian Society Volume 75 (1966).

[2] Hikoi Ki Te Waipounamu (2000), p.8.

[3] Deena Coster, ‘Peace Hikoi to Parihaka Presents New Possibilities for Partnership between Maori and Pakeha,’ Stuff (2016) https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/80694456/peace-hikoi-to-parihaka-presents-new-possibilities-for-partnership-between-maori-and-pakeha

[4] Parihaka Memorial, (Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Herritage, 2015) https://mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/significant-sites/parihaka-memorial

[5] Danny Keenan, Te Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka (Huia Publishers, 2015), pp.220-224.

[6] Danny Keenan, Te Whiti, p.224.

[7] Dick Scott, Ask That Mountain: The Story of Parihaka, pp.152-153.

[8] Danny Keenan, Te Whiti, pp.224-225.

[9] ‘Chief Justice declares treaty “worthless” and a “simple nullity” (Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2018) https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-chief-justice-declares-that-the-treaty-of-waitangi-is-worthless-and-a-simple-nullity

[10] Dick Scott, Ask That Mountain, p.153.

[11] Dick Scott, Ask That Mountain, p.153.

[12] Dick Scott, Ask That Mountain, p.153.

Words from Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia: Māori Suffragist

In the 1890s, Māori women seeking the vote fought on two separate fronts; nationally for the New Zealand parliament, and also within Kotahitanga Māori parliament. Many Māori women dedicated themselves to their retaining ancestral lands and sought political power to aid their aims. Between 1886 and 1896, forty petitions around land issues were presented to the New Zealand parliament, signed by Māori women on behalf of themselves or their Iwi..[1]

Historian Tania Rei notes that the Māori women who signed the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) petition appeared to all have pākeha connections.[2] During the 1890s, a number of Māori women worked with both the WCTU and Kotahitanga.[3]

Image of Meri Mangakahia from Wellington Recollect's Trail of Light publication
Image of Meri Mangakāhia from Wellington Recollect’s Trail of Light publication

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia was an eloquent speaker with excellent organisational flair. In 1893 she helped establish Ngā Kōmiti Wāhine, committees connected to kotahitanga that discussed issues such as family violence, smoking and retaining traditional Māori skills.[4]  She co-authored the significant Māori newspaper column Te Reiri Karamu (‘The Ladies’ Column’) in the Te Tiupiri (The Jubilee.)[5]  

Mangakāhia advocated for Māori women gaining the vote in Kotahintanga, which they eventually did in 1897. Mangakāhia’s connections to the WCTU are unclear, but the organisation’s initials were engraved into her beautiful wooden chest or “parliamentary cabinet”.[6]

Here’s a transcript of her 1893 address to kotahitanga.

 “I move this motion before the principle member and all honourable members so that a law may emerge from this parliament allowing women to vote and women to be accepted as members of the parliament.

Following are my reasons for presenting this motion that women may receive the vote and that there be women members:

  1. There are many women who have been widowed and own much land.
  2. There are many women whose fathers have died and do not have brothers.
  3. There are many women who are knowledgeable of the management of land where their husbands are not.
  4. There are many women whose fathers are elderly, who are also knowledgeable of the management of land and own land.
  5. There have been many male leaders who have petitioned the Queen concerning the many issues that affect us all, however, we have not yet been adequately compensated according to those petitions. Therefore I pray to this gathering that women members be appointed. Perhaps by this course of action we may be satisfied concerning the many issues affecting us and our land. Perhaps the Queen may listen to the petitions if they are presented by her Māori sisters, since she is a woman as well.”[7]

Sadly, considering how influential she was, little information is known about Mangakāhia. As her great-grandniece Emma Frost recently noted in an interview, “Māori women who shaped our nation were very invisible. There wasn’t a lot written about them.”[8]

This year, with Radio NZ coverage, promotion from Members of Parliament and a feature at the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Are We There Yet? exhibit,  it seems we are moving towards Mangakāhia finally getting the recognition she deserves. 

 

References

  1. Tania Rei, Māori Women and the Vote (1993, ) p.13 .
  2. Rei, p.27.
  3. Rei, pp.39-40, 47.
  4. Rei, p.19.
  5. ‘Meri Mangakāhia addresses the Kotahitanga Māori parliament’, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/meri-mangak%C4%81hia-addresses-kotahitanga-m%C4%81ori-parliament, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 24-Jul-2018
  6. Mana : the Maori news magazine for all New Zealanders, Dec 2007/Jan 2008; n.79: p.76.
  7. Adapted from a translation by Charles Royal in Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams (eds), The book of New Zealand women Ko kui ma te kaupapa, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 1991, p. 413.
  8. RNZ, Emma Frost and Jesse Mulligan,  ‘Unsung Heroes of New Zealand’s Suffrage Movement’ (2018) https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018652496/unsung-heroes-of-new-zealand-s-suffrage-movement

Wellington Girls’ College and Suffrage

The Dux, the Photographer and the Principal


Schools are a focal point for the history of communities — the past and present are bound together by the educational institutions that transmit knowledge between generations. Schools often play important and formative roles in historical movements and in the lives of important New Zealanders. Wellington Girls’ College (known as Wellington Girls’ High School until 1905) is one such hub of activity in our Wellington community.

In the late 19th century, a number of individuals connected with Wellington Girls’ College signed the 1893 suffrage petition, which directly preceded women gaining the vote in New Zealand. Three of these women are profiled below in this article. Their passion for their chosen vocation, their skill and influence on those around them is plain to see. With Suffrage Day on September 19th it is crucial to remember those women and the taonga of life stories.

Wellington Girls' High School, pre-1905
Pre-1905 photo of Wellington Girls’ High School. Calvert, L (Mr), fl 1963 :Postcards. Ref: 1/2-049813-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22790013
Group portrait of Form VI girls at Wellington Girls High School 1887
Connolly & Herrmann (Firm). Connolly & Herrmann (Wellington) fl 1887-1889 :Group portrait of Form VI girls at Wellington Girls High School 1887. Ref: PA3-0053. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23063637

Maria Elsie Allman Marchant

Above is a studio group portrait of Form VI, Wellington Girls College. Back row standing: Ada F Carrol. Amy Meek. Ethel Maud Wilson. Mary Grubb. Jessie Nairn. Seated from left: Margaret Paterone. Harriet Day. Ella Marchant. Georgina Stack. Photographed by Connolly and Herrmann (Wellington) in 1887.

Maria Elsie Allman Marchant, known as Ella, was a talented and extremely capable pupil of Wellington Girls College. In 1887, she became the dux of her school. Just a few years later, Marchant returned to Wellington Girls College as a teacher whilst also studying extramurally towards a BA and an MA from Canterbury University. In 1893, an ‘E A. Marchant’ signed the suffrage petition, making clear her commitment to extending suffrage to all New Zealanders.

Marchant went onto become the Principal of Otago Girls’ High School where she took an independent and insightful approach on a range of issues (which sometimes brought her into conflict with the board of governors).[1] She had a strong conviction to do the best for her girls. On Saturday nights, the boarders would gather at Marchant’s home to read from her well stocked bookshelf — they especially enjoyed her copies of Charles Dickens.[2] Her untimely death in 1917 curtailed her plans to establish a religious teaching order in Dunedin. The Evening Post noted that Marchant was “an eloquent speaker, and from her wide experience and knowledge often charmed and delighted audiences.”[3]

Louisa Marion Herrmann

In the photograph of Marchant above, it is important to note not just the individuals present, but also the photography business involved in the image.  Louisa Marion Herrmann arrived from the UK in New Zealand aboard the Piako in 1880.  Louisa worked in Wellington as an assistant for Herrmann photography studio on Lambton Quay.[4] She went onto marry Richard Herrmann, one of her employers. After his death in 1892, she took sole charge of the business, and for 16 years she ran the photographic studio, now based on Cuba Street, and employed many workers. Herrmann’s business was described as “the most up-to-date and complete studio in the colonies.”[5]

During this time, Herrmann became an advocate for suffrage by signing the 1893 petition. On her retirement, Herrmann offered for sale 35,000 photographic negatives of New Zealanders. Tragically, we no longer know where these are — at least for now, these images, and their stories, are lost.[6]  As Te Papa staffer Lissa Mitchell recently noted, “it is a sad reflection on New Zealand’s historical record that Louisa’s story of self-determination and resilience and her photographic work have been lost, and a strong reminder of the need to keep including the work and stories of women in our histories.”

Mary Jane McLean

Mary Jane McLean was one of New Zealand’s most significant educationists. Especially later in life, she was a prominent advocate for women’s rights. She signed the 1893 petition and went onto become Principal of Wellington Girls’ College in 1900.

Mary Jane McLean, circa 1925
Mary Jane McLean. New Zealand Free Lance : Photographic prints and negatives. Ref: PAColl-7171-46. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22693323

McLean was an experienced teacher, but she had to face tough international competition to attain her role. She immediately took an independent approach, making her mark on the school, where her legacies continue to this day. McLean directed Wellington Girls’ College as it expanded from a small school for a wealthy elite into a modern institution with a roll of 850. As the roll swelled, McLean helped establish Wellington East Girls’ College in 1926.

In 1929, after her retirement from education, McLean founded the Women’s Social Progress Movement which campaigned for women’s representation and provided aid and relief during the Depression in the early 1930s. McLean demonstrated a lifelong passionate commitment to improving the position of women, and Wellington remained McLean’s home till she passed away in 1946. Today, the year 13 Wellington Girls’ College prize for first in physical education is named after McLean.[7]

Marchant, Herrmann and McLean are just three of the signatories to the 1893 petition. All in all, thirteen separate petitions carried the signatures of 31,872 women. On the 19th of September, let’s celebrate all of those women with their unique lives, impressive achievements and their lasting influences upon us today.

Come along to Suffrage Day celebrations

We’ll be celebrating Suffrage Day at the Central Library on the 19th September. Come along and help us celebrate!

Library Planned activities

From 10am-2pm, you can:

  1. Have fun experiencing the times with our photo booth
  2. Try your hand at making a celebration camellia or badge
  3. Write some messages about what being able to vote means to you
  4. Watch a historical film (screenings are on the 1st floor)

Electoral Commission staff will also be with us from 12-2pm help you register for the electoral roll and answer any questions you have about voting in the present day!

Find out more about our celebrations

Kate Sheppard Ride

Another event happening in the city, is the Kate Sheppard Ride — see details below from the organisers:

Dress to impress and get your wheels spinning by joining us at 1.30pm on Saturday, 22 September 2018 (wet weather day will be the next day) at Old St Paul’s in Mulgrave Street. The Suffrage 125 bicycle ride will take you through the streets of old Thorndon and Wellington’s CBD.

Date: Saturday, 22 September, 2018
Time: 1:30pm to 4:30pm
Cost: 1 x Kate Sheppard $10 note
Location: Old St Paul’s, 34 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon ,Wellington

Learn more

Maori women and the vote / Rei, Tania
“In the last decade of the nineteenth century, Māori women were involved in two suffrage movements at the same time. Māori women supported the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in seeking the right to vote for members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and they also sought the right to vote and to stand as members of the Māori Parliament – Te Kotahitanga. By the turn of the century both these goals had been achieved. Their involvement in the suffrage movements was a significant development in the story of Māori women and the ways in which they organised at a national level to deal with issues of importance to them and their communities.” (Summary from the Royal Society – Te Apārangi)

Read online with Bridget Williams BooksThe Women’s Suffrage Petition = Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine, 1893.
“In May 2017 the exhibition He Tohu opened at the National Library in Wellington. This celebrates three founding documents in New Zealand’s history – He Whakaputanga: The Declaration of Independence (1835), the Treaty of Waitangi: Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) and the Women’s Suffrage Petition (1893). The originals of these documents are on display at the National Library, in a wonderful exhibition that tells the history of the times and the story of the documents themselves.” (Library Catalogue)

Women’s suffrage in New Zealand / Grimshaw, Patricia
“First published in 1972, Patricia Grimshaw’s account of the New Zealand suffrage movement remains the definitive study of New Zealand’s radical role as the first country in the world to give women the vote. In clear, lively prose, this revised edition tells the fascinating story of the courage and determination early New Zealand feminists demonstrated, focusing particularly on the remarkable leadership of Kate Sheppard, whose ideas remain relevant today.” (Catalogue)

References


  1. Te Ara online
  2. NZ History online
  3. DEATH OF A WELL-KNOWN TEACHER, Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 119, 17 November 1919
  4. ‘L M Herrmann’, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 14-Aug-2018
  5. Lissa Mitchell, ‘Inspiring stories about NZ women photographers – Louisa Herrmann (1864-1955)’ Te Papa blog
  6. Lissa Mitchell, ‘Inspiring stories about NZ women photographers – Louisa Herrmann (1864-1955)’ Te Papa blog
  7. Information courtesy of Wellington Girls’ College Library

Special thanks to Ann Reweti for the blog concept and the research notes that she compiled.