Elsdon Best: Man and Writer

Abstract

The subject or this thesis is :- 'A Biography of Elsdon Best, With Special Reference to Him as the Historian of Tuhoeland'. I have not attempted to appraise any work other than "Tuhoe" except in a general way since the field covered by Elsdon Best is probably more extensive than that of any other single investigator of the subject, Maori. "Tuhoe" was the earliest of his major works, and was written at a time when he was extremely diffident about generalising. The book played a considerable part in stimulating the Maori leaders to assist further research, and it aided in comenting the friendship between Maori and Pakeha. Moreover, the writing of "Tuhoe" was peculiarly opportune. The Urewera, by virtue of its geographical position, remained in isolation for longer than any other district of the North Island. When that isolation was beginning to break down the unsophisticated natives became imbued with the spirit of Hau Hauism. For long after the close of the last Maori war the Urewera tribes remained intractible and hostile. Then came the period of which I speak in Chapter IV. With the advent of a through road from Wairoa to Rotorua – a road of unsurpassed bush and lake scenery – the Urewera has become the stomping ground of the tourist. Thus had not Elsdon Best gratuitously given his time to recording their culture, the song of Tuhoeland would have remained forever unsung. With regard to the Biography Section, I have endeavoured throughout to keep to the main trends in the development of his thought and of his greatest ideal and to point out, that great opportunities faced him, at Porirua, at Poverty Bay, at Parihaka and later in the Urewera, opportunities which he did not hesitate to seize. Hence in Chapter I, I trace the development of his early years, pointing out, that he was of cultured parents, that he received the best education possible in those days and that he early gave indication of literary ability and of a love for all things Maori. Chapter II may, perhaps, seem a diversion, but this phase of his life illustrates, to a remarkable degree, his versatility and adaptability, which were later transmuted to his writing. In Chapter III I have tried to portray him at work, gathering material and daily adding his understanding of the Maori mind. Chapter IV and V are meant to set forward his success and disappointments as Government Ethnologist. The enduring quality of his services can be judged by the part he played during the crisis in the affairs of the Polynesian Society and in the formation of a Board of Research. Chapter VI, I admit to be my most vulnerable section. It is perhaps premature to assess his place in Literature, but the illustrations I have included may give a tentative indication of his outstanding ability in recapturing the spirit of the Mythopoetic Maori. With regard to his place in Science, I am sure that that cannot be adequately rated within the bounds of a single thesis. Thus I have taken as my main line of approach, to prove that Elsdon Best was a true Scientist, in that he used the scientific method. Finally, I consider it is only fair to confess that, though Mr. Best died only four years ago, I never met him except through the medium of his writings. Still I have, in the compilation of this thesis, attempted to depict faithfully to the best of my ability, Elsdon Best, The Man and the Writer.