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Tutu Te Puehu: New Perspectives On The New Zealand Wars
Based on the papers delivered at "Tutu te Peuhu: New Zealand Wars in the 19th Century Conference reflecting the current interests of the New Zealand historical community. The papers represent a major contribution to the historiography of the New Zealand Wars.
524 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
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About the author
John Crawford
119 books9 followersSPC John Crawford is an American Iraq War veteran and writer originally from Palatka, Florida known for his bestselling memoir The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell, about his tour in Iraq.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 22, 2019
The New Zealand Wars were a series of reasonably major conflicts (by 19th century standards) running from at least the Wairau Affray of 1843 to Te Kooti's raids through the Urerewas in the early 1870s. Colonial settlers, seeing "wasteland" not properly utilised by the native Maori, often sought to enforce suspect land purchases (such as the Waitara Block leading to the First Taranaki War) and/or enforce sovereignty (Flagstaff War, Waikato War). Maori forces had a number of successes both in attack (Kororāreka) and defence (Gate Pa), but lacked numbers and overall unity, especially as certain tribes allied with colonial forces (see the Te Arawa flying columns).
The (metaphorical) ghost of James Belich looms over this book, which is a collection of articles centred on the aforementioned New Zealand Wars. His written histories and impassioned recreations in his 1990s television series remain a touchstone for this period of New Zealand history, and most of the articles in this book genuflect to him in one way or another.
The topics include:
- Religious influences (Methodist vs Anglican, with the occasional French Catholic, finally leading to the syncretic beliefs of Titokowaru)
- The press, both in how it reported the war locally and to the wider Empire, shading events on occasion to put blame on Maori.
- The questionable criminalisation of Maori combatants and the temporary deportation to Tasmania of five of them.
- The early memorialisation of the events such as Boulcott's Farm and the youthful bugler, and the 99th Regiment's experiences.
Ironically, two of the strongest articles dealt with the travails and tribulations of Australia's frontier wars and Zulu experiences in South Africa. The articles arose from a conference in 2011, but were not published until 2017 - so for at least one author, their respective article serves as a final coda following their passing.
The range of the articles is a big plus, but there is a lot of assumed knowledge. Events and battles during the New Zealand Wars are touched upon but often not expanded any further than are strictly necessary for the purposes of the article. For example, an article on riverine naval logistics tended not to focus on the actual assaults on a Maori fortifications unless naval units were directly involved. This is the first way that Belich makes his impact on the book: the non-expert reader is assumed to have read a full narrative of the wars (as the linking between articles is virtually non-existent), and Belich is the most likely source for the average reader.
The second way Belich features is the constant references to him in the texts of the articles, rather than in the citations at the end as is generally the case for other sources. Sometimes he is supported, sometimes he is disputed, but in either case, he is talked about. It suggests we still have some way to go before we have the "definitive" book.
All the authors wrote well, and some could do a full narrative (Vincent O'Malley has done the Waikato War at least). In the interim, this is a solid way to sate the hunger.
The (metaphorical) ghost of James Belich looms over this book, which is a collection of articles centred on the aforementioned New Zealand Wars. His written histories and impassioned recreations in his 1990s television series remain a touchstone for this period of New Zealand history, and most of the articles in this book genuflect to him in one way or another.
The topics include:
- Religious influences (Methodist vs Anglican, with the occasional French Catholic, finally leading to the syncretic beliefs of Titokowaru)
- The press, both in how it reported the war locally and to the wider Empire, shading events on occasion to put blame on Maori.
- The questionable criminalisation of Maori combatants and the temporary deportation to Tasmania of five of them.
- The early memorialisation of the events such as Boulcott's Farm and the youthful bugler, and the 99th Regiment's experiences.
Ironically, two of the strongest articles dealt with the travails and tribulations of Australia's frontier wars and Zulu experiences in South Africa. The articles arose from a conference in 2011, but were not published until 2017 - so for at least one author, their respective article serves as a final coda following their passing.
The range of the articles is a big plus, but there is a lot of assumed knowledge. Events and battles during the New Zealand Wars are touched upon but often not expanded any further than are strictly necessary for the purposes of the article. For example, an article on riverine naval logistics tended not to focus on the actual assaults on a Maori fortifications unless naval units were directly involved. This is the first way that Belich makes his impact on the book: the non-expert reader is assumed to have read a full narrative of the wars (as the linking between articles is virtually non-existent), and Belich is the most likely source for the average reader.
The second way Belich features is the constant references to him in the texts of the articles, rather than in the citations at the end as is generally the case for other sources. Sometimes he is supported, sometimes he is disputed, but in either case, he is talked about. It suggests we still have some way to go before we have the "definitive" book.
All the authors wrote well, and some could do a full narrative (Vincent O'Malley has done the Waikato War at least). In the interim, this is a solid way to sate the hunger.
September 1, 2024
Good ideas, and reliable historians; but, by necessity, limited by the format, which only provides each contributor 25 pages or so to present their position.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews