It is generally agreed that without a distinctive national tradition which unites a nation, its people lack cohesion, balance and confidence. This I contend, is at the root of the pillars, of New Zealand today.
Divided by racial animosity predicated on demands of unequal treatment for one minority ethnicity (soon to be swamped by the unstoppable Asian tsunami), the unity upon which preservation New Zealand’s heritage depends, founders in dangerous waters.
It has been penned by eminent commentators (1) (2) (3) on the history of Australia, that since the time of arrival of transported white convicts from Great Britain via the First Fleet landing in Botany Bay 18 January 1788, a distinctive national characteristic of “independence” began to emerge.
Contempt for the traditional English hierarchy, predicated as it was/is, on Monarchism supported by an arrogant and often tyrannical upper class society; rejection of religion as nothing more than a tool of the ruling elite to terrify the addlepated, a burning enduring hatred of the police force, of demands for freedom, equality in governance and a “collective” philosophy, of “mates ship”, were values which culminated in the “bushman’s” culture – manifest to this day as the unity and spirit of Australia.
Henry Lawson identifies the democratic impulse on the Australian frontier, for a strong sense of equality, anti-social hostility, and to any control or even patronage from above, when he penned:
They tramp in mateship side by side
The Protestant and Roman
They call no biped lord or sir
And, touch their hat to no man!
Banjo Paterson’s ballads, Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River, capture the evolution the outback and the “bushman” and resonate to this day.
1915 reinforced, “mates-ship”, self-dependence and distrust of the British overlords who cast ANZAC’s to their fate against the cliffs of Gallipoli.
The problem in New Zealand, is that we don’t have a magic formula which unites the country.
Barry Crump did capture the culture of the Kiwi “bushman”, in A Good Keen Man. But alas, recently I read where some “influencers” of today, say that it’s time he was gone.
Comedian Billy T James, was also a figure who united the nation with his “non-woke” sense of racial humour. (4) Alas, he too is gone.
Lose Head Len of Mr Gifford’s pen?
Rugby? Well, yes, but that was when amateurs like Wilson Whinnery, Coin Meads, Waka Nathan, Sid Going, Ian Kirpatrick, Keith Murdoch, Bryan Williams, John Kirwan and Dan Carter ruled the rugby world.
But today, even rugby union has lost its mantel, as professionalism has undermined if not totally and irrevocably destroyed the unifying social fabric rugby clubs once provided for communities, from Kaitaia to the Bluff.
A “Culture”, has been destroyed.
And, losing to Argentina? Alas, another pillar falls.
The Māori “haka”, may once have been a gesture accepted as a national mantra, but alas, the demands for special rights for Māori, as delivered by John Key’s removal of the 2004 Foreshore Protection Act and then via the Ardern government, followed by threats of civil war from contemporaneous pseudo-Māori leaders, has removed the “haka” as a sign of national unity.
“Bring Back Buck” Shelford, no longer resonates.
So, where do we search to find the magic formula?
Does Mr Luxon have what it takes, to rebuild our nation?
Ross Meurant. BA MPP. Company Director. www.gena.co.nz. Former Police Inspector, Member of Parliament, Honorary Consul.
Disclaimer: My French Huguenot gt gt gt grandfather, Ferdinand Charles Meurant, was a deported convict from Britain to Australia on the Minerva 1799. (5)
(1) Blainey, Geoffrey. The Tyranny of Distance, Sun Books, 1977.
(2) Clark, Manning. A Short History of Australia, Tudor Aust, 1969
(3) Ward, Russel. The Australian Legend, Oxford Uni Press, 1977.
(4) Billy T James once acknowledge on NZ TV (1990s) that he and I were related – that I acknowledge as accurate. At the time, I had just entered parliament as an MP for National. Other MPs present with me one evening watching Billy T, were as stunned as was I when he said (words to the effect): “You know that fella from the Red Squad? He’s now a MP! He’s my cuzin.”
7 comments:
Luxon doesn’t appear to want to take ownership of the racial problems facing NZ. As for so called Māori of today, they need to accept that their forbears signed a treaty that guaranteed equal rights to all inhabitants of the country and made the country a civilised place. To now use hindsight and not acknowledge the benefits the Treaty has provided is simply disingenuous.
therer was a time when such articles would appear in the msm, but I doubt if this will. Unlikely to form basis of an RNZ discussion.
The Paris olympics were again a time of unity and pride in NZ . The quality of our athletes and the humility and pride shown in interviews was excellent . There is NO place for division and apartheid in NZ.
You forgot John Clark (Fred Dagg) and Murray Ball (Footrot Flats).
A “Culture”, has been destroyed.
Yes, it has, and the destroyer has been the STATE masquerading as our democratically elected government.
Re: The Māori “haka”, may once have been a gesture accepted as a national mantra. Not by me and many others. It is ugly and violent and primitive. Sicking out your tongue, rolling your eyes, and making grunting noises is what I would expect of some not-well-brought-up 4 year-olds. Compare Balinese dances and subtle Gamelan music to the Haka: Beauty and the Beast.
Nuku
Just been glossing over fotos last time I was in Athens - relevance to your comment? - the artistry of the sculptures of human beings and architectural genius - also puts into perspective exactly where Maori was before the white man arrived.
History can be a bitch.
Ross
You are both more subtle than was the Hon John Banks, as I recall.
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