WAITANGI: FACT AND FICTION

the gift of waitangi, by Vernon H. Reed, Wellington, A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1957, 1216.

During his term of office as Governor General of this country Lord Bledisloe did much to foster and encourage the study of New Zealand history. When he purchased and subsequently presented to the Nation the historic Waitangi property in 1932 he explained that one of the objects of the gift was the cultivating of a sense of Nationhood and pride in New Zealand history—to crystallise past history as a means of inspiring future generations to patriotic effort.

In his book ‘The Gift of Waitangi’ Vernon Reed relates the interesting circumstances concerned with his own attempts to interest the Government in buying the historic site. He first proposed that the property should be acquired as early as 1908, and after years of further agitation succeeded in arousing the interest of Lord and Lady Bledisloe shortly after their arrival here. The value of preserving such an important site was immediately realized by Lord Bledisloe who without hesitation offered to purchase the place and present it to the nation. The famous Treaty House, originally the home of James Busby, was at that time in such a state of disrepair that stock were roaming in the gardens adjoining the building and some of the rooms were being used to store hay. The formation of the trust board and their efforts to restore the dilapidated house and its surroundings are aptly described by Mr Reed who was himself an active member of the board.

Prominent Maori representatives included Riri Maihi Kawiti, grandson of Kawiti, representing the families of that chief as well as the Hone Heke, Tamati Waka Nene and Pomare families. Mr Tau Henare represented the Maori people living in the North Auckland Peninsula, and Te Rata Mahuta for those living in the North Island south of Auckland.

Mr Reed describes the opening of Waitangi in 1934 when people from tribes in every part of the country were present. “It was a great tribute to Lord and Lady Bledisloe”, he says, “that their influence was such among the Maoris that tribes from all parts of New Zealand came to pay them homage.” The memorable centennial celebrations of 1940 are also recalled when the signing of the historic treaty was re-enacted and a war canoe, Nga-toki-matawhaorua, was again seen in Waitangi waters.

The transference of the administration of the estate from the trust board to the Lands Department is regarded with dissatisfaction by Mr Reed who considers that the want of understanding of the historical associations of Waitangi and a proper appreciation and respect for the donors wishes have caused unreasonable changes to be made. According to Mr Reed the efforts of the first trust board to establish a sanctuary of native bush were destroyed when the area set aside for that purpose went up in flames in the process of breaking in the land for farming. He concludes his book with an appeal to the people of New Zealand “to shoulder their responsibilities and see to it that irreparable damage is not done to this great heritage.”

While much of the book is weighed down by all too bitter arguments about detail, it is still of value as a record of this important national trust.

I NGA RA O TE PAI, HEI PAI

28 maori battalion by J. F. Cody; War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1956.

Congratulations Mr Cody. This is not the kind of story that tells itself. How many years you spent in research, I do not know, but I suspect that it was many. For that work, we thank you. Out of the confusion of action and the boredom between action, you have traced a history that is neither confused nor boring.

For there was confusion. In the early campaigns, especially, battalion action soon degenerated into company action, then platoons took over, and finally, sections finished it off. It was at the platoon and section level that the battalion excelled, where individual courage, cunning and initiative would take over and win a day that might otherwise seem lost.

The Battalion reflected the faults and the virtues of our Maori people. One great lack in the earl stages was skilled technicians, for instance, wireless operators. Communications were liable to lose contact when they were most needed. This is no criticism of the individual radiomen, who did a tough job well, but of the general set-up. Heaven help the poor O.C. who wanted to fight by the book. When the boys went into action, the book went overboard. Time and time again the O.C. would find himself frantically trying to contact his various units. Yet the very individualism and fluidity that caused the breakdown in the coordinated attack would often win the action, as at Takrouna.

Battles are by their nature confused and involved. Our many different memories of them are doubly so. Yet there are few who would quibble with the skill, the scholarship of this lengthy and yet all-too-brief history.

All too brief because of the 1001 incidents that do not make a history. Of these, only the few have been recorded, to give a picture of the day-to-day life of the Battalion. The rest will have to wait for the next reunion. I suspect that on one or two occasions, regarding treatment of a batch of prisoners, for instance, the history skips over interludes where possibly the less said the better.

Perhaps another Buck, a Pomare or a Carroll lies in the deserts of Libya or the hills of Italy. Let us not name any one before another. This book is a fit memorial to the 640 dead of the Maori Battalion.

Ka tahuna te ururua ki te ahi, ekore e tumau tonu ki te wahi i tahuna atu ai; kaore, ka kaa katoa te parae

—Wi