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THE WAITANGI ORATION
Although by the time this appears, Waitangi will be long past, we feel that the Hon J. R. Hanan's address was of such eloquence and distinction as to warrant its record in a more permanent form than its abridged quotations in newspapers. This is the full text of Mr Hanan's speech.
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Today, for the first time, we celebrate Waitangi Day as New Zealand's National Day, under the Statute of 1960. On this day, 121 years ago, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed here—and a new nation was born.
ONE PEOPLE
As each Maori chief appended his signature, Captain Hobson is reputed to have said:
He iwi kotahi tatou
We are now one people.
Although we are indeed one people—which is of great significance in a world torn by differences between racial groups—yet we must not overlook certain differences that do exist between the Maori and the Pakeha. However close we have been in the past, we are destined to be much closer in the future. Only in very recent times has it been appreciated that the urbanisation of the Maori is inevitable. Farming will never support more than a handful. Even when all Maori land is developed, it will support fewer than 4,000 more Maori farmers. The rest of the Maori people will find work only in or near the towns. At present, on the one hand, there is one Maori in town for every three in the country: on the other hand, there are two Europeans in town for every one in the country. The distribution of European population represents the real distribution of available jobs. The urban migration of the Maori in search of work will go on till their distribution nearly coincides with that of the Pakeha. We cannot afford wastage of such a potential work force as the Maori people now constitute. So in the Maori interest and in the national interest, we must welcome, plan, and provide for a redistribution of Maori people.
GOOD NEIGHBOURS
This will put our much-vaunted and in the main justified claim to racial harmony to a much stiffer test than it has ever been subject to before. For as the Maori people move from their rural isolation to town and city, Maori and Pakeha will increasingly become neighbours. The Pakeha must be ready to accept the fact that his next-door neighbour is a Maori. So too, the Maori. Town life will certainly bring the two peoples closer, but on what terms? As Minister of Maori Affairs I must, on this our National Day, which symbolises our national unity, speak plainly on behalf of the Maori people. Here, where the die of racial harmony was cast, let us look honestly at the picture today. Though much has been achieved, I am sure you will all agree that the picture could be better. Much remains to be done.
DISTURBING SIGNS
Today, there are disturbing signs and trends which, if not checked, could easily lead to a racial problem.| 1. |
Maori Health and span of life are still too far below the European standard. |
| 2. |
Nearly a third of the Maori people live in grossly overcrowded conditions. |
| 3. |
One in every seven Maori houses is substandard. |
| 4. |
Half a million acres of good Maori land lie idle and neglected. |
| 5. |
120,000 Maoris live in the country whereas employment is to be found mainly in the towns. |
| 6. |
The Maori people should have three times as many apprentices and eight times as many University students. |
| 7. |
The Maori crime rate is 3 ½ times the European. |
These problems are urgent. They are the problems of all New Zealanders. We must find and apply the remedies now.
WAITANGI
February 6th
1961
A view through the crowd.
The Minister of Maori Affairs. Hon. J. R. Hanan, taking the salute; the guard is paraded from H.M.N.Z.S. Otago.
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Mr Pita Heperi, delivering a historic speech by Tamati Waka Nene; seated, in Maori dress, Mr Walter B. Kawiti, who delivered the speech of his ancestor, Kawiti.
night scene at Waitangi.
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GOVERNMENT'S PART
The Government will do its part. We will do all in our power to promote more education and vocational training for the Maori people. We will do all in our power to carry out more energetic programmes in housing and land development. All these measures will in turn, I am sure, help solve some of the other problems and generally lead to better race relations.
THE PEOPLE'S PART
But this is not a matter for Government alone. It is up to us all, Government, Pakeha people and Maori people, to ensure that, hand in hand with urbanisation of the Maori, we do not allow an unhealthy race consciousness to develop on either side, and so divide our people. It need not. It must not. But it will take an effort on the part of all of us to avoid it. The Pakeha people, as the majority people, can do much.
A ‘FAIR GO’ FOR THE MAORI
City life is full of pitfalls for young Maori people. They are cut off from their ancient roots and it is a strange experience. And yet they must increasingly come to the city. I appeal to the Pakeha people to welcome them into your midst. Offer them board and lodging. Extend them the hospitality of your homes. Be friends with them. Help them to get the best jobs for which they are qualified. I appeal to the Pakeha people, in short, to see that the Maori people get a “fair go”. In time of war, they proved themselves worthy of it: and you will find in them a most rewarding response.
THE WAR
Many of us had the privilege of serving overseas during the war in the same brigade as the Maori Battalion. I was with the Maori Battalion in the final stages of their magnificent break-through at Minquar Qaim, in the Western Desert. I will never forget it.
SHARING FRUITS OF PEACE
I know from first hand experience that together, Maori and Pakeha shared the dangers of war. I am determined to ensure that on the home front there is joint participation in the fruits of peace.
TWO WAYS OF BECOMING ONE
Two ways of life are becoming one. And wherever two different ways come into contact, there must be two-way give and take. We have a duty to see that there is a true merging of the two peoples, not a submerging of the minority people. This is an obligation to which, I affirm, we are committed by history and destiny. In a world torn by great differences between racial groups, New Zealand affords an example of the progressive blending of two races.
In the blending of our cultures, the Maori people have much to contribute—certainly not less than the Scots, the Irish, and the Welsh—to the composition of the British people. Not the least of the Maori contribution may be something of the spirit of kindliness, courtesy and tolerance, so necessary in a world tending to be dominated by the current standard of material gain. It is up to both Maori and Pakeha to ensure that our relationship remains based on the principles of justice, equality and racial harmony, the seeds of which were sown here 121 years ago. I repeat what Captain Hobson said to each chief: He iwi kotahi tatou.
A NEW MIGRATION
To the Maori people I say: when the great canoes first set out over the oceans of discovery, nature was your only challenge. The seas and the seasons were your foe and your friend. You were guided by traditions and the stars. Now you are no longer alone. You must calculate your position not only by the stars. You live with other men of the twentieth century. You must sail abreast of the other peoples of the Pacific and the near north. I would say, then: prepare the canoes for another migration as adventurous as the last. But this time, let us build a new canoe to lead the fleet—a canoe called Aotearoa, the New Zealand canoe. How
Government seeks to open wider perspectives to children such as these, living in new homes built for them at Kaikohe.
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New home, built in Kaikohe under the Maori Affairs scheme to settle Maori families in urban areas.
The motive power is education. Hoist the sails to catch the winds of change and increase the pace.
CONSULT MAORIS
I look forward to consultation with the Maori leaders about the course and speed of the canoe on their great voyage into the future. In particular, we will confer together on the setting up of a Maori Tribal Council so that the leaders of the people may have a forum for discussion at national level and a channel of communication with the Government. I trust that the Maori people will co-operate with me whole-heartedly in safeguarding and advancing their best interests, as I can assure them that the Government has their best interests at heart.
On this, the first occasion on which we celebrate Waitangi Day as New Zealand's National Day, we dedicate ourselves to the task of facilitating the advance of the Maori people as citizens of New Zealand so that two ways of life can become one.
As this is now our clear objective, not only the Maori but also the Pakeha must be guided by those celebrated words of that great soldier and scholar of the Maori people. Sir Peter Buck:
Ka pu te ruha: ka hao te rangatahi.
The old net is cast aside: the new net goes a-fishing.
Wedding of Mr Rex Wilson, formerly Te Ao Hou representative at Whangarei, to Miss Maureen Bradley. Mr Wilson has Maori blood on his mother's side, formerly of Thames. His wife is a granddaughter of Mr Waitai Pita, prominent rangatira of the Whangaruru district. The couple are now in Hawera, where Mr Wilson is resident officer of the Department of Maori Affairs. Photo by Bernhard Chantler
