The Treaty.
The proud island races of Maori and South Pacificans have blended near perfectly with the invading English, and French, but is was the canny English in 6th February, 1814 that carried the day in their favour. Sixty years the Maoris went from 95per cent to 5 per cent of the population because of the gifts of smallpox and other plagues brought from the Imperial forces of the English world. However the Maoris survived and to this day their language is written proudly beside any English you see in the streets. The Te Papa Museum, an example of this proud Maori heritage, is a place of great knowledge and free to all who enter, a far cry from the famed MONA in Hobart of which very few, if any, Kiwis have heard, and rightly so, for it is not a flea's fart is comparison to this wonderful cultural icon in Wellington, something which certainly makes this city the rich capital of Culture in New Zealand.
The Museum guide just came up to me, another Aussie, but here since 1965, when he escaped the Viet Nam draft in Australia. lucky me who didn't have to escape, it escaped me!
He gave me good info re living here, as an expat, he is now a kiwi, and worked here in Te Papa since 1999. His knowledge was excellent and there are many free course where I can learn Maori. Yippee!
No comments:
Post a Comment