Lost in Translation

One of the reasons we decided to go to the Bay of Islands was to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds just outside of Paihia. The 1840 treaty between Māori chiefs and representatives of the British Empire signed at Waitangi is considered the founding document of New Zealand and we have learned over and over how important it remains to New Zealand politics and governance and especially to the Māori.

However, native activists and their supporters never gave up the fight to have the Māori version of the treaty honored, and in 1975, parliament passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act which governs all Treaty-related issues in New Zealand and resulted in a resurgence of Māori language and culture.

Labour governments, especially that of Jacinda Ardern, passed laws addressing inequities in Māori health and education, mandating Māori language in all public signage and records, and moving towards something called ‘co-governance’ derived from an understanding that the Treaty of Waitangi (in Māori) promised a sharing of power between the crown and the Māori.

This interpretation of the treaty and the new laws that have flowed from it have provoked the inevitable backlash resulting in charges of racism and apartheid in the December 2023 national elections.

The coalition government that was formed after the elections (which were prompted by Ardern’s resignation and exposed sharp divisions in NZ politics and society) has turned sharply to the right, vowing to dismantle the Māori Health Authority, remove Māori names from public service departments and declare English NZ’s national language—all huge setbacks for Māori rights and a worrying sign that anti-Māori parties are intent on stripping away the gains the Māori have made in recent years to redress the historic wrongs of the treaty.

The treaty grounds themsleves have always been an important lieu de mémoire for the Māori, and include a spectacular Maori assembly house or marae built in 1940 for the centennial of the treaty, the house of James Busby, the first British representative in New Zealand, where the treaty was signed, and an enormous Maori war canoe, or waka, also built for the centennial, that is rowed out into the bay every year on February 6, Waitangi Day, which has been a national public holiday since 1974.

But it has only been in the last 10 years or so that the Treaty Grounds have taken their current form, with the addition of two outstanding museums, forest walks, and a restoration of the Treaty House.

Surprisingly, this remarkable place takes no government funding* as the council that governs the estate, made up of Maori and Paheka (non-Maori) with ties to the original treaty signers feel such money would compromise its independence and they wish to keep the Treaty Grounds clear of political influence.

The entrance fee, from which they get all their revenue is not cheap ($60 NZ, about $37 US) and includes a guided tour with a Māori ‘experience’ in the marae at the end.  Naturally, Tom was skeptical, having an abhorrence of guided tours borne from his many years of tour guiding himself, and having been to thousands of places like this, which often feature rote, cheesy re-enactments devoid of any real feeling, put on strictly for the benefit of the punters. He was especially dismayed when our group was joined by a large contingent from the two huge cruise ships moored in the bay.

However, I’m happy to report that he was pleasantly surprised. The tour used whisper audio guides which allowed the group to spread out widely and still hear the Māori guide, who spoke so clearly and caringly about the estate and its natural and man-made elements that Tom complimented him at the end.

And the performance itself was enthralling- eight young Māori who welcomed us with a haka and then joyfully performed a series of dances and songs that demonstrated aspects of Māori life, a clear indication of the pride they have in their culture and heritage.

Tom even agreed to be photographed with them after the demonstration!

The site itself is spectacular, with breathtaking views across the bay and islands, surrounded by lush tropical forests that you can stroll through.

And the two museums are world class. Te Kōngahu opened in 2016 and  focuses on the history of contact between Māori and Europeans and Te Rau Aroha, which opened in 2020 just before the pandemic, but only reopened about 18 months ago.

Te Rau Aroha is devoted to the Māori experience of war: first against the British Empire and then with and for it in the First and Second World Wars. We have been to literally dozens of war museums in the US, England and Europe, many world class, especially on the Western Front, but few have impressed me as much as this one. The exhibits were state of the art, and the memorial room (where photos were prohibited) was extraordinarily moving.

But this museum does not glorify empire, war or victory, and presents, from the Māori perspective, a very ambiguous message about participation in these wars. The English title of Te Rau Aroha is the Museum of the Price of Citizenship and the overall narrative is that the Māori, who fought valiantly for their country and the British empire were not rewarded with full participation in New Zealand society on their return from war. One WWII veteran, whose video taped testimony is featured in the musuem, talked about seeing one of his comrades in the Māori Battalion blown in half and siad, with regret and sorrow: ‘What was it all for? It wasn’t worth it.’