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Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Monday, 18 April 2016
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Does loyalty count for nothing?
With the impending changes to British laws and the repercussions for Kiwis on their OEs, is it time to re-think our relationship with Britain? With the bias against Kiwis in Australia, is it time to re-evaluate our relationship with our nearest neighbour? Does loyalty count for nothing now? Are we just "too soft" when it comes to our relationships with our "sister" countries?
Debate rages presently about changing our country's flag. Next month we will choose to either adopt the new design or retain the current flag. The only difference really, is replacement of the Union Jack with the silver fern. We appear to like the blue representing the southern ocean and the stars representing the Southern Cross - we all seem to relate to them. The debate appears to be over having the Union Jack as part of our flag. None of the options selected for a new flag included it. Yes, we have a colonial history and many if not most of us have English, Welsh, Scots and/or Irish blood - but no, we are not British. Yes, we have genes, language, laws, structure and history in common - but no, we are not British.
What have we done to deserve this shoddy treatment by Britain? Was standing in front, behind and side by side through two world wars not loyal? It was happy then to consider us "one of them". Does Britain now consider us too much removed to be considered related? If so, why should we retain their flag as part of ours?
BUT - We may not be British but Britain is part of us, like it or not. I for one wouldn't exist but for my British ancestors, hardy immigrants all of them. Perhaps those immigrants were different, not like the average Brit. Maybe they were ready to cut ties.
Kiwis in Australia get a rough deal compared with other immigrants. Big sister Australia likes to belittle and ridicule little Aotearoa. Australians in New Zealand are treated much better. Once again, we show a loyalty to our shared history and genes, a loyalty not reciprocated.
Are we scared to stand on our own, is that why there's fear about letting go of some of our past? Loyalty appears to count for nothing, so maybe we have nothing to lose.
Debate rages presently about changing our country's flag. Next month we will choose to either adopt the new design or retain the current flag. The only difference really, is replacement of the Union Jack with the silver fern. We appear to like the blue representing the southern ocean and the stars representing the Southern Cross - we all seem to relate to them. The debate appears to be over having the Union Jack as part of our flag. None of the options selected for a new flag included it. Yes, we have a colonial history and many if not most of us have English, Welsh, Scots and/or Irish blood - but no, we are not British. Yes, we have genes, language, laws, structure and history in common - but no, we are not British.
What have we done to deserve this shoddy treatment by Britain? Was standing in front, behind and side by side through two world wars not loyal? It was happy then to consider us "one of them". Does Britain now consider us too much removed to be considered related? If so, why should we retain their flag as part of ours?
BUT - We may not be British but Britain is part of us, like it or not. I for one wouldn't exist but for my British ancestors, hardy immigrants all of them. Perhaps those immigrants were different, not like the average Brit. Maybe they were ready to cut ties.
Kiwis in Australia get a rough deal compared with other immigrants. Big sister Australia likes to belittle and ridicule little Aotearoa. Australians in New Zealand are treated much better. Once again, we show a loyalty to our shared history and genes, a loyalty not reciprocated.
Are we scared to stand on our own, is that why there's fear about letting go of some of our past? Loyalty appears to count for nothing, so maybe we have nothing to lose.
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Monday, 4 August 2014
Early New Zealand: interesting reading -
Thor in the South Pacific
NZ history questioned -- The Ruamahanga European skull
Thor in the South Pacific
NZ history questioned -- The Ruamahanga European skull
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Tangata Whenua: To be or not to be
Another Waitangi Day; another "national celebration". To be quite honest, I don't find much to celebrate. I know this is a beautiful country - I wouldn't truly like to live anywhere else - but beauty's just skin deep isn't it? It's what's under the skin that really matters.
As a family researcher, I wonder if I'd think and feel differently if I had Maori DNA? The first time I saw a photograph of one of my great-great-grandmothers, I wondered if she had Maori blood. It was the lips that did it. Turned out she wasn't part Maori at all but an English immigrant with a very distinctive mouth. As a six year-old in the 1960s I was asked by a class-mate if I was a Maori, because I had "big lips".
Try as I might, I can't claim any Maori ancestry. My mitochondrial DNA tells me my ancient ancestors lived in what is now known as Greece, before spreading out to Scandanavia and the British Isles. Before Greece, they were in what is now called Africa, the cradle of humankind. My more recent ancestors were of British extraction. End of.
Did I want to find evidence of Maori lineage? In a way, yes. I already feel a part of this land - I have no other to call home - but even after five generations it's not considered my country. I have relatives with Maori ancestry, even my own grand-daughters. Trying to untangle New Zealand families to make us "one or the other" would be near on impossible.
None of us sprung from the soil; none of us has more right to water and air than anyone else. Yes, there are some genuine grievances and they need to be addressed, but greed, brutality and racism are not traits of any one race. What it comes down to is we are all immigrants to this country and we are all New Zealanders.
As a family researcher, I wonder if I'd think and feel differently if I had Maori DNA? The first time I saw a photograph of one of my great-great-grandmothers, I wondered if she had Maori blood. It was the lips that did it. Turned out she wasn't part Maori at all but an English immigrant with a very distinctive mouth. As a six year-old in the 1960s I was asked by a class-mate if I was a Maori, because I had "big lips".
Try as I might, I can't claim any Maori ancestry. My mitochondrial DNA tells me my ancient ancestors lived in what is now known as Greece, before spreading out to Scandanavia and the British Isles. Before Greece, they were in what is now called Africa, the cradle of humankind. My more recent ancestors were of British extraction. End of.
Did I want to find evidence of Maori lineage? In a way, yes. I already feel a part of this land - I have no other to call home - but even after five generations it's not considered my country. I have relatives with Maori ancestry, even my own grand-daughters. Trying to untangle New Zealand families to make us "one or the other" would be near on impossible.
None of us sprung from the soil; none of us has more right to water and air than anyone else. Yes, there are some genuine grievances and they need to be addressed, but greed, brutality and racism are not traits of any one race. What it comes down to is we are all immigrants to this country and we are all New Zealanders.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Tours of historic Bolton Street Cemetery in Wellington
Next tour this Sunday 7 October 2012 at 2pm.
Many famous early settlers are buried there, e.g. James Smith (of department store fame), the Wakefield brothers (NZ Company), not to mention some of our Mudgways.
See Friends of Bolton Street Memorial Park
Many famous early settlers are buried there, e.g. James Smith (of department store fame), the Wakefield brothers (NZ Company), not to mention some of our Mudgways.
See Friends of Bolton Street Memorial Park
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
New Zealand Research Guide
Primarily this guide is for those whose people came from the British Isles. I’m not saying you’ll be able to do all your research from the comfort of your own home but if you have a computer with Internet access and some time on your hands there is an awful lot you can do without setting foot outside.
New Zealand Research Guide
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