In one headline, Dean Wickliffe is described as a 77-year-old kaumatua. In an other, he is a notorious criminal.
”Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old parolee, has been beaten by prison guards in Spring Hill Correction Facility and is now on a hunger strike.
Lifetime parolee Dean Wickliffe is on day eight of a hunger strike in Springhill Corrections Facility, alleging a guard beat him up on March 6 following his recall to prison on March 5, his lawyer Annette Sykes claims.
The first headline sits atop a press statement on the Scoop website.
Obviously, this statement – and its story about a fellow who has spent most of his life behind bars – triggered the second headline and the report beneath it in the New Zealand Herald report.
Both reports required your PoO team to consult their dictionaries for translations.
In the case of the Herald, the report was written by Joseph Los’e, whose title is “Kaupapa Māori Editor”.
The Oxford English Dictionary says:
Kaupapa:
Chiefly in Māori contexts: a principle or policy; the philosophy of a person, group, or organization. Also: a proposal, plan, or programme based on Māori principles.
That leaves plenty of puzzlement about the job of a Kaupapa Māori Editor.
The second word that called for a check was “kaumatua”.
”Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old parolee, has been beaten by prison guards in Spring Hill Correction Facility and is now on a hunger strike. I am extremely worried for this kaumātua from Maketū whom I have helped over the years reintegrate back into the community” said Mr Wickliffe’s counsel Annette Sykes.
Wickliffe has spent much of his life behind bars, don’t forget.
At the end of the statement, Sykes says:
In 2018 Mr Wickliffe released a book about his life, titled ‘A Lifetime Behind Bars’. At the time of the release of his book, the 69-year-old had spent 41 years in prison. He was released on parole on 2 June 2020, and has been leading a quiet life in Maketū on his whenua.
The Herald report adds:
Wickliffe has a long criminal history. He is the only person to have escaped Paremoremo maximum security prison twice, in 1976 and 1991 and before being paroled in 2018 was the country’s longest-serving inmate.
This hints at “kaumatua” meaning “long-serving prisoner”?
But no. Wikipedia says:
A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder in a Māori community who has been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both current and future generations. Kaumātua have good knowledge of Māori tikanga, language and history; and their contribution ensures that the mana of the whānau, hapū and iwi are maintained. Barlow (1994) refers to kaumātua as being the “keepers of knowledge and traditions of the family, sub-tribe and tribe”. Although the term kaumātua is widely used to refer to all elders, male kaumātua are more correctly called koroua or koro, and female elders are called kuia.
It is something of a stretch to think that a bloke who has done a lengthy stretch – 41 years in prison – has much to teach and guide current and future generations, other than to urge upon them the folly of breaking the law.
The point of the Sykes press statement and the Herald report, however, is that Wickliffe is on a hunger strike in Springhill Corrections Facility after alleging that a guard beat him up on March 6 following his recall to prison on March 5.
Sykes said Wickliffe was not only assaulted but also denied his right to contact his lawyer when he was recalled to the facility.
He was recalled for breaching his parole, after being found living in his car instead of at his approved address.
Kym Grierson, Acting Commissioner Custodial Services, said the alleged assault on March 6 was under investigation.
Sykes says she is appalled at Wickliffe’s treatment.
“No one should ever be treated like this in prison, ever, and certainly not a 77 year old kaumātua who had turned his life around living a peaceful life in Maketū. He was bothering no one, in fact he has huge support from his community and friends who have rallied together to help him ” said Ms Sykes.
“In accordance with my client’s instructions, I have obtained the photographs of his injuries and provided these to the media,” said Ms Sykes.
The Herald has featured the photographs in its report, leaving no doubt Sykes’ client has taken a bashing.
She says:
“I am doing everything I can to see him by audio-video link, but without any luck. I truly fear for his safety. This is not just an isolated incident but raises broader questions and significant concerns about the treatment of elderly and vulnerable individuals within our correctional facilities. Regardless of an individual’s status as an inmate, basic human rights and dignity must be upheld, particularly for vulnerable persons such as the elderly” said Ms Sykes.
There can be no doubting he is getting on in years.
There will be differences of opinion, however, about whether he is better described as a kaumatua or as an “old lag”, a British expression – back in the land of the colonisers – for someone who has been in prison many times.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
How about a 2x murderer.
Wickliffe was convicted of murdering jeweller Paul Miet during an armed robbery in 1972.
Wickliffe was released in 1995, but was later found guilty of murdering Bay of Plenty man, Richard Bluett.
This isn't only Dean Wickliffe. For a snippet of NZ culture I recommend spending a day watching the criminal list in the District Court. You'll see all the drunks, drug addicts, gang members who normally don't work and don't want to, who take no responsibility for their kids (who normally end up the same way), who are dishonest and violent. In other words, the dregs of society.
Of these people, those who happen to be Maori suddenly, on attaining a certain age, become kaumatua. They are then the source of all wisdom. They decide what NZ's "oral history" is, regarded as sacrosanct by the Waitangi Tribunal and all the woke academics. They are the "manu whenua" who have to be consulted by local and central government on anything. They are the people to then tell everyone else how to live. The "partners" under co-governance.
If he is telling the truth (and there is no reason to believe that a man with Wickliffe's history is telling the truth), he should count himself lucky that this is the extent of the poor treatment meted out to him.
While i don't condone the beating, given the grief that this man has caused and his cost to society over a considerable number of years, I do wish him every success with his hunger strike. He would be doing everyone a favour, 'cept perhaps his lawyer
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