Maori Girl

by Noel Hilliard

MAORI GIRL is one of the few New Zealand novels that can truly be called a classic. First published in 1960, it has been the centre of argument and soul-searching ever since. Although the story deals objectively and honestly with racial discrimination, it is nonetheless much more than a social thesis. As a finely drawn portrait of an ordinary young woman growing up and dealing with the forces and values that shape her life, at first in a small rural community and later in the rough, fast-moving city of Wellington, Maori Girl has few equals in New Zealand literature. The questions it poses about the interaction of Maori and Pakeha are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago.

Maori Girl is the first novel of a four part series making a complete story; the others are Power of Joy, Maori Woman and The Glory and the Dream.

Genres: Fiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book that has been surprisingly under appreciated. This book was recommended to me by my English teacher, and it took a bit of effort to track down - even the library didn't have a copy. I wish this book was more widely available as it is well written, insightful, and deals with issues that are still a problem in New Zealand today. Highly recommend this book to pretty much everyone, but especially to New Zealanders (and more so NZ Europeans who are not familiar with New Zealand's recent history of race relations).

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to be too hard on Hilliard. In his own way he was speaking truth to power, and his book was revolutionary for its time. I also think that books can have literary merit despite being offensive or having dated views of human rights or social issues (though I do think we should notice these things when we read, and not necessarily forgive them for being products of their time). But Maori Girl isn't such a great literary work that it demands to be read despite its faults in this area. In this way it's a sort of Kiwi Uncle Tom's Cabin: it served an important social purpose, while being far from perfect either in its literary merit or its explorations of race and ethnicity. Now it has been superseded by superior works. There are many books exploring issues of Maori issues in modern New Zealand--better books, by Maori authors, more thoughtful and better-written. In a world where we can read Tu, The Whale Rider, and Once Were Warriors, I think it's fair to allow Maori Girl to fall by the wayside, only revived from obscurity by the occasional social historian.

This paragraph comes from a longer review on my blog, Around the World in 2000 Books.

[BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story and well worth a read, although I must admit I prefer the novels of Alan Duff and Patricia Grace.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a novel my 5th form English teacher (1990) introduced to the class...it was a touching story.

[David Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because Maori Girl got me to do something no other book has ever done - made me put it down in revulsion and not pick it up again for several days. I've read my share of horror fiction but Noel Hilliard's nausea-inducing description of the grotty boarding house the two principal characters in Maori Girl reside in really made my skin crawl. From page 205: "The washhouse was a lean-to at the back, connected to the house by a rusty tin awning and a row of sacks on the ground. The mortar between the bricks of the cooper was crumbling and some of the bricks were loose; they were chipped and greasy from generations of bellies chafing against them, countless red-faced and sweating women leaning on them to rummage with the copper-stick. New accumulations of decayed mortar were heaped in little mounds on the floor every day. The tattered rubber rollers of the wringer were bound with rags. The two tubs leaked - the warping wood had eased the nails loose - and they were always slimy. Netta hesitated to use these facilities: she suspected that filth had saturated the boards over the years, and worked itself out with each new wetting; she felt that every time she left clothes to soak in the tubs she was impregnating them with the body-waste of people who had lived here five and ten years before." And there are several pages describing in great detail other awful aspects of the run-down place. Be warned.
But to do a broader assessment of the novel as a whole, it's a great depiction of 1950s New Zealand with archaic, sometimes amusing dialogue to match; a country where there is no legalised segregation between races but some places have an unspoken 'no Maoris' policy and casual racism is a thing; but where dating between European and Maori New Zealanders happens - that is the whole underpinning of this tale, of a Maori girl from a rural area who goes to the big city not so much to seek her fortune but to escape a scandal she got entangled in in her country hometown. It's a lively tale but it meanders and times and could lead one to the view of 'nice story but what about the plot'? Well there are a couple of real twists near the end so stick with it if piercing descriptions of Wellington, New Zealand on grey winter days and of drunkards, white and Maori, in downtown bars aren't doing it for you. And those excruciating passages around page 205 cited above will have the seedy boarding house haunting you every bit as much as if it was inhabited by ghosts.

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me in 1984 and has patiently sat on my shelf waiting for me to read it.
It is a classic of New Zealand literature and was probably one of the first of its kind - a male Pākehā author writing from a female Māori point of view. The author was married to a Māori woman, so would have some insights through that. The language and dialogue seem fairly authentic, and the main theme of Netta, the protagonist, moving from a farm and a predominantly Māori community to the city and a more Pākehā dominated world, reflects what was happening for a lot of Māori at the time (1950s).
I found the writing a bit patchy. Some dull and prosaic passages, some original and quite beautiful poetic description, and a slightly jerky plot line. [Spoiler alert] Later in the story the boyfriend's point of view begins to intrude and the inconclusive ending from his point of view left me hanging and disappointed. I felt like the story had been stolen from Netta and wanted to hear from her what happened.

[Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, what an interesting novel. Of course time has passed, a good 65 years since this novel was published, and so a lot has changed, writing wise. Hilliard's effort is a noble one, though if written today it's story telling would be quite bare bones, especially given that the author writes outside of the realm of maori and female experience. As another review on a blog site suggested, it's important in its historical purpose, but no longer holds the same weight that literature since, has covered, especially maori writers in the following decades.
I should add that the text does cover a fundamental problem in regards to the 'picturesque' past, that many yearn for or recall kindly. Speaking as an Australian reading this, the world had changed, and it hasn't.
All in all, the dramatic side is still quite entertaining, I think it is perhaps a shame that this wasn't adapted to black and white drama or a 70s mini series, particular the Winners and Losers series on NZ on Air.
Recommended!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to find this one, and I doubt I will ever get to read its sequels, but dang am I happy I took the time to find and read this book. New Zealand fiction isn't well represented among US libraries and bookstores, which is such a shame, because the culture there is amazing and well represented in the literature.

This book does a great job of showing the world from the perspective of a native Maori girl as she struggles to find her place in a society that doesn't value her because of her background and skin color. Her experience isn't far different from that suffered by many indigenous people around the world at that time, but it is interesting to delve more deeply into that culture.

If you can find this book and are interested in NZ classic fiction, I would highly recommend it.