'These Islanders': Pacific People in the New Zealand Print Media, 1960-1974

Abstract

'These Islanders', the title of this thesis, refers to the representation of Pacific people in the print media of Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1960s and early 1970s. Most readers in present day New Zealand would probably assume that the term 'Islanders' connotes people from the smaller nations of the South Pacific; it is never used to mean New Zealanders, whether Pākehā or Māori. Of course, New Zealand is also comprised of islands, and from time to time its inhabitants have poetically dubbed their country 'these islands'. As Kerry Howe has noted, however, 'most New Zealanders over the past hundred years have not regarded their country as a 'Pacific Island' or even as an integral part of Polynesia.'Kerry Howe, 'New Zealand's Twentieth Century Pacifies: Memories and Reflections', New Zealand Journal of History, vol. 34, no. 1, April 2000, p. 6. In a South Pacific context, New Zealand has historically conceived of itself as a 'mainland', a large country whose major interests lie elsewhere, with smaller Pacific nations inhabiting the distant periphery. This marginalisation of the 'Pacific Islands' is mirrored by popular use of the term 'Islanders' to refer to Pacific communities within New Zealand, and is symbolic of the historical isolation of Pacific people in the public consciousness. In fact, the 'Islanders' who are the subjects of the present study are New Zealanders, Māori and Pākehā, and the ways in which these 'Islanders' have framed their responses to immigration from the Pacific is the central focus of this thesis. New Zealand's Immigration Policy The passing of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1920, one of a series of pieces of legislation aimed primarily at thwarting further Chinese immigration to the Dominion, formed a blueprint for New Zealand's immigration policy until late in the century. The Act acknowledged a 'natural' affinity with Europe, and made it incumbent on all non-British people (and non-white British citizens) to apply for a residence permit before entering New Zealand.David Pearson, A Dream Deferred: The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in New Zealand, Allen & Unwin, Wellington, 1990, p. 80. Unlike its trans-Tasman counterpart, the New Zealand government did not maintain a publicly declared commitment to the creation of a 'white' society. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Bill Massey was able to claim that the new law was 'the result of a deep seated sentiment...that this Dominion shall be what is often called a 'white' New Zealand.'Quoted in Angela Ballara, Proud to be White?: A Survey of Pakeha Prejudice in New Zealand, Heinemann, Auckland, 1986, p. 109.