LA ICONOGRAFÍA COMO CIENCIA AUXILIAR

This type of written journalism started with the monthly issuing of Ko te

Karere o Nui Tireni, The New Zealand Messenger (1842-6), “so that the

Māori people would come to know the laws and customs of the Pākehā and the Pākehā would also come to know the customs of the Māori people” (Editorial introducing the principal purposes of the newspaper, January 1, 1842, Niupepa Collection, background).5 Governor Hobson, recognising both the power of print for colonising purposes, and the high literacy rate among Māori, instructed George Clarke (Hori Karaka), Government-appointed “Protector of Aborigines”, to produce a paper for ‘the instruction of the natives’ (Native Affairs Department, 1A1, 1841 / 1627, filed at 1842 / 1627). A small periodical in Māori and English was then established at Auckland within two years of the Treaty of Waitangi. Contents of this paper included notices from government, both proclamations and appointments to

4 _{This Act stated, ‘instruction is to be carried on in English language as far as is practicable’,} but allowed the Māori language to be used at the discretion of the Inspector of Māori Schools (Statutes of New Zealand, 1867, p.469). The Act was interpreted practically and liberally for some time after.

5 _{Unless otherwise stated, all translations in this chapter of historic Māori-language} newspapers headlines and texts are extracted from the Niupepa: Māori Newspapers

Collection, bibliographic commentaries and English abstracts which summarise the main

subjects of long items, such as editorials, articles, and letters, and record, sometimes by a complete translation, small items such as notices, advertisements, and short news reports.

government positions, taken from the New Zealand Gazette and translated into Māori; explanation of laws; notification of land sales; events in Auckland and other parts of New Zealand; and some letters from Māori (Niupepa Collection, subject matter). Written in Māori, the paper was edited for the Government by George Clarke, Thomas Spenser Forsaith and Edward Shortland (Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details). Brodie, a contemporary Pākehā, in his daily life chronicles, considered the publication of Ko te Karere “one of the few good acts” of the government, noting how on publication day one Māori would read from the paper to a circle of others sitting on the ground, listening and later discussing the contents (Brodie, 1845, p.110). The paper ceased its publication in January 1846 when war broke out in the North. Altogether there were 49 issues (Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details).

The Māori Messenger, Ko te Karere Māori (1849-54) issued fortnightly was

“printed and published for the Local Government by Williamson and Wilson” (Imprint reading, Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details). Charles Davis, who was appointed to the Native Office as clerk and interpreter in 1842, edited material supplied by the Native Secretaries. The paper was written in English with Māori translation and aimed “to afford instruction and amusement to a strange people, scarcely over the threshold of civilisation” (Translation from newspaper by Curnow, 2002:2 p.18) thus reflecting the condescending attitudes of the time towards Māori. Material in The Messenger included various issues from a Government point of view; correspondence from Māori people throughout New Zealand to the Governor and his replies; reports on districts throughout New Zealand; descriptions of British expeditions; and articles on law, farming and other British customs (Niupepa Collection, subject matter).

Published under the auspices of the Native Department, the next two titles, both bilingual and usually fortnightly, can be considered as one continuous

serial of colonising journalism. The first of these papers, The Māori

Messenger, Te Karere Māori (1855-61) described itself as “an old friend in a

new dress” (Translation from newspaper January 1, 1855, p.1 by Curnow, 2002:2, p.19), thus referring to its predecessor. Its contents included political announcements, correspondence, informative and commercial material. The second title was Te Manuhiri Tuarangi and Māori Intelligencer (March- November 1861), sent forth “to instruct and enlighten you [the Māori] in all matters affecting your welfare, and to afford you a medium for the full and free expression of your opinions on all questions that may concern or interest you” (Translation from newspaper March 1, 1861, p.3-4, Niupepa Collection, background), and contained letters to and from the Governor, speeches and meetings between the Governor and Māori, and public notices, biographies and news (Niupepa Collection, subject matter).

All of these previously mentioned papers correspond to early government- sponsored or private publications that were created with the main objective of controlling Māori through the ‘educative and civilising’ information provided in them. They had irregular careers, with recurrent suspensions because of funding issues. Māori were employed as clerks or translators by newspapers but were not allowed to publish their opinions or concerns. Nevertheless, amidst these newspapers are many very valuable and revealing elements of straightforward reportage about events and experiences of living conditions at that time in Aotearoa/ New Zealand.

There is a second cluster of colonising journalism papers, which had the added purpose –apart from that of instructing Māori on government and law and order procedures– of opposing the views of the Māori-owned press. The first of those was Te Pihoihoi Mokemoke i runga i te Tuanui (The Sparrow that sits Alone upon the Roof) (February-March 1863). Governor Grey, deciding that he must counteract the ideas published in Te Hokioi (see below, page 49), a

contemporary Māori-owned paper, appointed John Gorst, Resident Magistrate for Waikato, as editor of Te Pihoihoi. The antagonism between the two papers became evident from the first issue of Te Pihoihoi, where an editorial by Governor Grey mocked the opposing war-bird (Te Hokioi), “That bird flies high in the heavens beyond the clouds; while I fly close to the ground. That bird’s screech is an omen, predicting warfare and bloodshed; I, on the other hand, do not screech; I sit alone on the rooftop, singing merrily.” (Translation from newspaper February 2, 1863, p.1, Niupepa Collection, background). Also, an article entitled “Te Kino o Te Mahi Kingi” (The Audacity of setting up a King) (Ibid, p.2) declared the King Movement ludicrous. There were four issues of Te Pihoihoi but the fifth did not come out. On March 24, 1863, a party of warriors, acting under direction from Rewi Maniapoto, sacked the school building and carried off the press, the type and all the printed sheets. According to the editor of Te Hokioi, neither the Māori King nor Pātara Te Tuhi had consented to this action, and later the press was returned (Gorst, 1864, p.336-343). There were no further issues of Te Hokioi after May 21, 1863 either, probably because of Grey’s invasion of the Waikato (Curnow, 2002:2, p.22).

Te Waka Māori o Ahuriri, The Māori Canoe of Hawke’s Bay (1863-71), of

which there were 136 issues, was edited initially by James Wood, editor of the

Hawkes Bay Herald and appeared fortnightly. Because the newspaper was

published in Napier, where Donald McLean was the Provincial Superintendent and Member of the House of Representatives (MHR) for Napier 1866-76, he exerted considerable influence over the paper. Some issues were delayed due to “the editor’s absence in connection with Māori land purchases” (Williams, 1975, p.81). McLean was also the Chief Land Purchase Commissioner for the Crown.

Te Waka passed increasingly into government hands, as James Grindell, an

employee of the Native Department, took over editorship, possibly as early as 1864 (Curnow, 2002:2, p.22). The paper’s declared purpose was to improve understanding between Māori and Pākehā by bringing forth the views of each, so ‘then goodwill will grow between us’ (Translation from newspaper, June 13, 1863, p.1-2, Niupepa Collection, background). It carried news of events in New Zealand; reports of meetings; the wars in Taranaki, Waikato and Ōpōtiki; Land Court matters; births, deaths and marriages; and shipping news (Niupepa Collection, subject matter). Te Waka did not appear for a few weeks before it relocated to Wellington. Once there, Te Waka continued its publication from the government printer, with a change of name to Te Waka Māori o Niu

Tireni, The Māori Canoe of New Zealand (1871-7).

Edited still by Grindell, the paper contained news, and letters and accounts of meetings (in which formal speeches incorporating traditional songs, incantations and proverbs were often recorded), but its greater part was devoted to pressing government views on land purchase and Native Department policy under McLean, who was Native Minister from 1869 to 1876 (Curnow, 2002:2, p.22-23).

Te Waka had a rough existence as it was involved not only in a constant

conflict with Te Wananga, a contemporary Māori-owned newspaper, but also amid a political struggle between Government and Opposition and various libel actions against it. Te Waka, as a government paper, ceased in 1877 but was revived in August 1878 privately sponsored and published by the shareholders at the Gisborne Māori Newspaper Company until October 1879, when the shareholders decided to place the company in the hands of a liquidator, probably because so few Māori had subscribed (Curnow, 2002:2, p.23-24).

A number of short-lived independent Māori newspapers were produced in the late 1840s and in the 1850s, chiefly by philanthropic and church interests but

equally inducing Māori acculturation to Western ways through using colonising journalism’s writing style. The Anglo-Māori Warder, published in Auckland by Williamson and Wilson between April and October 1948, is another example of colonising journalism. Williamson established the English language newspaper The New Zealander to “champion the rights of Māori” (Scholefield, 1958, p.80) and Wilson, according to Scholefield, believed that it was in the best interests of Māori people for the Government to assert its supremacy in New Zealand as promptly as possible. To foster this process they combined to print instructions in Māori: “for farming and gardening after the English fashion; for keeping bees and taking honey; for making things useful to man –such as different kinds of food, soap and candles, and things of that kind, together with some simple directions about clothes and physic, and matters relating to health” (Translation from newspaper, April 25, 1848, p.2, Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details).

Three independent newspapers were promoted by Charles Davis (Hāre Rēweti), and were supported by donations. The first, Te Waka o te Iwi, The Canoe of the People (October and November 1857?), was intended to be a press for Māori to “obtain knowledge of Christianity, farming, growing crops, cleanliness and the evils of drink, greed for money and violence” (Niupepa Collection, subject matter). Wiremu Tamihana of Ngāti Haua (Waikato) assisted Davis. Tamihana, who was instrumental in establishing Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as the first Māori King, gathered local Waikato support for the newspaper (Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details). The newspaper shows the keen desire of Māori to air their opinions in this public forum and the willingness of Davis to allow them to do so. Correspondence from Waikato, Hauraki, Kaipara and Turanganui, several concluding with waiata filled three of the four-page issues (Niupepa Collection, subject matter).

In 1858 Te Whetu o te Tau, The Star of the Year (June-September 1858) was published, like its predecessor, at the office of the Southern Cross in Auckland (Curnow, 2002:2, p.20). Māori people continued to forward donations to support the publication of the newspaper and to establish a Māori press. Unlike Te Waka, which printed mostly letters, Te Whetu o Te Tau published mostly articles, probably written by Davis (Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details). Ko Aotearoa or the Māori Recorder (January 1861 and January 1862) was produced in Māori and English and strongly criticised the Government’s actions in initiating war over land in Taranaki (Niupepa Collection, background) but again it failed, through obvious lack of financial support. Among its contents are letters to the editor, waiata and hymns, notes on horticulture, sheep farming and money and its use in the purchase of goods (Niupepa Collection, subject matter).

Te Karere o Poneke, The Messenger of Wellington (1857-8) produced 58

weekly issues. It was edited by Walter Buller and printed by McKenzie and Muir who, in 1845 set up the Wellington Independent (Scholefield, 1958, p.28, quoted in the Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details). Its contents and topics were practical, informative and instructive such as market prices for foodstuffs; lost property; entertainment; lectures to be held; rewards for the capture of runaway sailors; an English calendar; and correspondence on issues of the time (Niupepa Collection, subject matter).

Te Haeata, The Dawn Streaks of Light (1859-62) was a religious newspaper

edited by the Reverend J. Buddle (Te Patara) at Onehunga. It was established by the Wesleyan missionaries to “convey the good news to people desiring knowledge, particularly of the church, and to instruct them in the good customs of the Pākehā” (Niupepa Collection, bibliographic details and background). It contained scriptural lessons; correspondence mostly from Waikato; instructions on bringing up children; moral tales; accounts of the war

in Europe and of the warfare at Taranaki and the increasing tension in the Waikato (Niupepa Collection, subject matter). After three years of regular monthly issues the paper ceased. Curnow suggests that “Buddle hinted in the final issue at the decline of Māori interest in church-generated literature” and “the Māori-Pākehā conflict and reorientation of Wesleyan activity” as probably accounting for its cessation (2002:2, p.21).