Taking issue with description of New Zealand as ‘terra nullius’

THERE is much thoughtprovoking material in Tom McKinlay's piece on decolonisation (Weekend Mix, 27.6.20).

But it contains one misleading claim. It suggests that James Cook and his fellow explorers considered New Zealand ‘‘terra nullius’’, land belonging to noone.

I'm not a professional historian, but my understanding is that while British authorities had considered Australia to be terra nullius, they did not think of New Zealand in this way.

Terra nullius was land that was either unoccupied, or occupied by people who lacked an organised society.

But as the British colonial secretary noted in 1837, Maori had fixed places of residence, a system of land ownership, and their own form of government. So their land could not be simply taken over; a treaty was required.

Nor was this a new idea. In his instructions to Cook, the president of the Royal Society (which sponsored his voyage) had stated that indigenous people ‘‘are the legal possessors of the regions they inhabit’’ and that no European ‘‘has a right to occupy any part of their country. . . without their voluntary consent’’.

It is true that Cook sometimes ignored this advice and acted as if he could simply lay claim to the land. And we all know that the colonial government sometimes ignored the treaty they had signed. But my point is that a number of British policymakers rejected the view that the article attributes to them.

We have much to learn from the history of our country, but we do noone a favour by oversimplifying it. Kia tuhono te pono me te tika: let truth and justice go handinhand.

Greg Dawes

Roslyn

Central iSite

I WAS very disappointed when the Central Otago council announced the closure of the Alexandra iSite. The reason given was that it was not profitable.

Since moving to Alexandra in 2007, I have made repeated use of the services of the iSite. The staff were always helpful. In addition, it was a focal point for visitors to Alexandra.

The setup was good: brochures on accommodation, sites to visit and other areas in Central Otago and further afield in Southland and Canterbury all could be found in the one site.

That friendly service is now replaced by the electronic age, and if you don’t have it, tough.

Subsequently, I was disgusted to see all the iSite brochures tossed out last Wednesday.

Why weren’t these brochures given to the iSites in Roxburgh and Ranfurly? What a miserable end to an excellent iSite.

Shame on you, Central Otago District Council.

Wendy Browne

Alexandra .....................................

BIBLE READING: Don’t get tired of helping others. — Galatians 6:9.