Colonial Discourses
Niupepa Mäori 1855-1863

by Lachy Paterson

Key Points

• First book on Mäori newspapers in this vital period in Mäori-Pakeha relations, leading into the wars of the 1860s
• Uses an under-utilised resource of great value
• Analyses and discusses content, much written by Mäori
• Provides translations of all Mäori text discussed

Book

In 1855, most Mäori lived in a tribal setting, as they expected, exercising the chiefly rights guaranteed by the Treaty of Waitangi. But their world was changing. Many Mäori had entered the market economy, most had converted to Christianity, many could read and write, some had sold land to the government. These trends pleased the government, which envisaged a New Zealand dominated by Europeans, with the benefits of European civilisation being extended to Mäori, elevating them socially and economically. Ultimately the two races would become he iwi kotahi - one people.

The government used its own newspaper, Te Karere Mäori, to disseminate this message to Mäori. Other newspapers were published by government agents, evangelical Pakeha, the Wesleyan Church and the rival Mäori government, the Kingitanga. But while the newspapers were used for propaganda, they provided a forum, with many Mäori debating the issues of the day. As a result, this book is able to illuminate the whole colonial discourse between Mäori and Pakeha as it appeared in the Mäori-language newspapers.

Contents

Introduction
1 The Newspapers
2 Literacy and Education
3 Language
4 Propaganda
5 Law
6 Civilisation
7 Politics
8 And More Politics
9 Conclusion

Author

Lachy Paterson is graduate of the University of Otago and lecturer in Mäori History at Massey University, Palmerston North. His research interests include nineteenth-century Mäori-Pakeha race relations, Mäori social, religions and political history, and the New Zealand Land Wars.

Publication details

NZ History, History of Print Culture; Otago History Series
paperback, 230 x 150 mm, 206 pp, ISBN-10 1 877372 26 9
(ISBN-13 978 1 877372 26 1), $39.95
Publication date: August 2006