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After Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited New Zealand in 1953 and 1954, the Duke made some direct comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the Maori.
“New Zealanders seem to consider [Māori] somewhere between museum pieces and household pets, ”he wrote in a letter dated March 8, 1954 to Australian politician Sir Harold Hartley. “There doesn’t seem to be an official policy for them that is enlightened at all.”
He also commented that there was no adequate Maori leadership and that the disbanded Maori battalion would have been a “tremendous influence for good and means to keep Maori pride alive.”
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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were shown by Whakarewarewa by Guide Rangi in 1954.
Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley of Massey University thought the prince’s comments simply reflected a colonial ruler watching from the outside. They were frank, he said, but also quite insightful.
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“The idea that Maori were somehow like museum pieces is quite insightful,” he said. “He is very insightful in terms of how Pākehā would talk about the Maori.”
The insight stems from the way Pākehā organized the royal tour for the prince and queen Elizabeth.
“What he would have been presented with is a very naive noble savage vision, almost completely controlled by Pākehā.
“It is largely a function of the times.”
Spoonley also thought that the Duke of Edinburgh’s comments on the Maori battalion were interesting, but his observations on the leadership were wrong.
“You are wrong to think that the Maori leadership was lacking, because of course all these Maori battalion leaders were present and playing a very important role.”
The 1950s were a strange decade for New Zealand, Spoonley said. It was the period of the great Maori internal migration that culminated with the end of World War II and the Maori revival of the 1960s.
John Hawkins / Things
Queen Elizabeth on her first visit to Invercargill in 1954.
The royal tour began in Auckland and the couple traversed much of the country. They crossed the North Island, traveled to the West Coast on the South Island and left after visiting Invercargill and Bluff. They visited a total of 46 locations and attended 110 functions.
His tour, while not focusing on Maori culture, was used as a way to show the world that New Zealand had the “best race relations in the world” and that Maori were fully involved in the country’s British lifestyle, according to New Zealand. Zeeland. History.
In his book Real Summer, Jock Phillips explained how Waitangi’s omission from the royal itinerary worried many ahead of the planned visit, and fears about “difficulties from a racial angle” resulted in his inclusion in the end. The visit, however, was described by the government as a Waitangi event, “not a large-scale Maori reception,” and was scheduled for only half an hour.
During the visit to Waitangi, after seeing the poi and haka dances, the Queen said: “I am glad to see how the two races live and work together as one people in New Zealand.”
Alexander Turnbull Library
Young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their first visit to Wellington in 1954
A second Maori reception was scheduled at Whakarewarewa Māori Village in Rotorua. Rangitiaria Dennan, known as Guide Rangi, showed them around and they watched the divers jump off the bridge.
They received a third experience at Tūrangawaewae when they did more than just the planned 3-minute stop outside the car. They watched the performances, the haka and 100 warriors in two war canoes, Te Winika and Aotea, paddle down the Waikato River.
The couple ended up staying 17 minutes, longer than planned but not long enough to immerse themselves in the culture.
Katie Scotcher / RNZ
Professor Paul Spoonley explained that royal visits went from being run by governments and Pākehā to more reflective of Maori tikanga.
“The idea that you can do a 3 minute marae visit is extraordinary,” Spoonley said. “What were they thinking?”
Spoonley thought this very much reflected the way Pākehā viewed the Maori tikanga at the time: irrelevant, except on ceremonial occasions.
“There was not really an opportunity to understand the challenges of the post-war Maori and there was certainly very limited exposure to Maori culture and language.
“There is limited engagement with the Maori.”
Royalty was not invited to understand tribal relations. Instead, they were presented with only one uniform culture.
Pākehā Minister of Maori Affairs EB Corbett said at the time: “As for the queen herself, it will only be the Maori people, she will not be concerned about which tribes they come from.
However, the royal tour acted as a turning point, and the royal visits that followed were more representative of Maori and New Zealand culture.
“[They have] It went from being run by governments, and particularly Pākehā, to something that is controlled by the Maori, and much more reflective of Maori tikanga. “
John Hawkins / Things
The Queen and Prince Philip in Gore.
The Queen and Prince Philip returned in 1963 to commemorate their accession to the throne and the 123rd anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. They both attended the Waitangi celebrations in the Bay of Plenty. This visit was replicated by the Queen’s son, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in 2019.
New Zealanders now hope that these visits will be filled with more authentic and personal experiences, Spoonley said.
The letter signed by the prince is being auctioned by Dominic Winter Auctioneers. It is estimated that it will reach between $ 387 and $ 581.
