History of Ma¯ ori segregation must be part of curriculum
‘‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’’ – George Santayana
Few Kiwis are aware that the racial segregation of Ma¯ ori ever happened. It is a remarkable story that should be taught in our schools because confronting injustice and acknowledging past wrongs is part of the process of healing for the country.
To break down stereotypes associated with the polarising term ‘‘Ma¯ ori privilege’’, it is essential to learn about our past and the disadvantages they have wrought.
What happened
The epicentre of the segregation was in the South Auckland town of Pukekohe, where for much of the 1920s to the early 60s, Ma¯ ori were not allowed upstairs at the cinema or to enter dairies.
Most barbers refused to cut their hair, taxi drivers would not pick them up, and on the bus to Auckland, they were forced to stand for a white passenger if the seats got full.
From 1952 to 1964, the Pukekohe Ma¯ ori-only school was the only racially segregated school in the history of the country. The previous school had separate toilets for Ma¯ ori. Monday through Thursday, European and Asian pupils were allowed into the swimming baths; Ma¯ ori were only let in on Fridays – then they changed the dirty water.
The apartheid-like housing segregation would result in hundreds of deaths. As one government report noted, there was an ‘‘unwritten rule’’ among townsfolk not to rent to Ma¯ ori, forcing them to live at the market gardens on the outskirts of town.
There they resided in converted manure sheds, and dilapidated huts without running water or indoor plumbing. In one case, 12 people were crammed into a two-room shack. They were deathtraps. More than 200 Ma¯ ori infants and children died from a host of preventable diseases during this period – from measles and diphtheria to whooping cough and tuberculosis.
In 1931, a journalist wrote the following description: ‘‘In a shed 8ft by 10ft, built of kerosene cases and roofed with kerosene tins… Maoris were living and paying a rent of 2/6 per week.’’
A health official described the scene. ‘‘No fewer than eight persons are huddled into this ‘shelter’… and a few days ago a baby was born there. There is no floor, and on entering the place, mud was up to one’s boot tops during the recent rainy weather.’’
In 1938 alone, 29 Ma¯ ori infants and children died in Pukekohe from preventable diseases linked to their housing.
A wider issue
The segregation was not confined to South Auckland. The National Archives contain hundreds of examples from across the country.
In 1936, Tauranga barred Ma¯ ori women and children from Pa¯ keha¯ restrooms.
In 1940, politicians approved the building of a library and reading room in Kaita¯ ia, complete with segregated toilets.
Some hospitals had separate maternity wards and gave Ma¯ ori patients cheaper cutlery.
In 1960, some shops in Hamilton refused to let Ma¯ ori customers try on pants, while a student from Hawaii who resembled a Ma¯ ori entered a Dunedin restaurant and was refused service. He was told that reservations were required and that they were booked out for the next two weeks, but as he was leaving, ‘‘Pa¯ keha¯ s entered and took tables without any indication of having made bookings’’.
Why it matters
This topic is confronting, but it is no more difficult to breach than that of the many young men who died at Gallipoli and Passchendaele during World War I, or the history of black civil rights in America and South Africa – all standard topics taught in our schools today. I would argue that the segregation is even more poignant because it happened on Kiwi soil.
Teaching this history can help to explain why Ma¯ ori lag behind non-Ma¯ ori in every major social indicator. Ma¯ ori die years younger than non-Ma¯ ori, have higher rates of illness, infection and psychiatric disorders, significantly higher mortality rates for stroke, heart disease, and cancer, and are twice as likely than non-Ma¯ ori to forego collecting a prescription due to the cost.
On average, their income is lower, employment is mostly in low-paying primary and semiskilled jobs, and their housing quality is poorer. They are more likely to be suspended from school or expelled, increasing the prospect of juvenile criminality.
Any discussion of the challenges faced by Ma¯ ori today must include an understanding of how we got here – and the segregation era is a major part. Teaching this history is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength.
To break down stereotypes associated with the polarising term ‘‘Ma¯ ori privilege’’, it is essential to learn about our past and the disadvantages they have wrought.
Dr Robert Bartholomew is the author of No Ma¯ ori Allowed: New Zealand’s forgotten history of racial segregation: How a generation of Ma¯ ori children perished in the fields of Pukekohe, and We Don’t Serve Ma¯ ori Here, which is aimed at intermediate and high school students.