'New Zealanders' at war?: the mythology of the New Zealand soldier and the beliefs of the New Zealand soldiers of the South African war, 1899-1902

Abstract

The South African War of 1899-1902 established in New Zealand a coherent public image of the New Zealand soldier, the image of the New Zealand soldier presented in the public sphere and especially in the press by New Zealand's dominant elite, including notably politicians and newspaper editors. This public image constituted a mythology: it was informed by and itself embodied a system of ideas about the New Zealand soldier and, through this, of the New Zealand male, an ideology central to which was the idea of the New Zealand male's superior innate military capabilities. It has been argued that this mythology was generally affective for turn-of-the-century New Zealanders, that the ideology it embodied was widely cherished. This study examines the extent to which the New Zealand soldiers who took part in the South African War held the ideas contained in the mythology and the beliefs and attitudes which the soldiers held as this arises from this investigation. It is argued that the mythology was not strongly held by the New Zealand soldiers in the present study and, moreover, was held by the majority on only a general level. The soldiers were, it is argued, possessed of a structure of three contradictory competing broad beliefs about themselves, intrinsically related to a system of three competing self-images and, more broadly, three competing yet compatible 'racial' identities. This structure of competing identities is explained in relation to the wider historical context, especially late nineteenth century New Zealand mentalité. It is concluded that the mythology of the New Zealand soldier of the South African War was propagated by New Zealand's dominant elite. It is argued that this needs to be understood in relation to the contemporary historical context, in particular the influence of contemporary racial, imperial and domestic ideas and concerns. It is also suggested that New Zealand's dominant elite sought to propagate the national identity which this mythology informed. Finally it is concluded that these findings raise significant doubts over the claim that the mythology of the New Zealand soldier, and the ideology it embodied, were generally cherished by contemporary New Zealanders.