Backbencher

Keith Sinclair’s book, A History of New Zealand, is a look at the historical past of New Zealand and how the land and its people came to be. This novel is divided up into three sections. The first is about the Maori people and settlers from 1642-1870. The second part discusses the new colonies once they realized they were in need of leadership. Finally the book concludes with the early 1900s till 2000 and the struggles that came in this period.

Sinclair’s text was introduced by a prologue entitled, The Fist of Maui. At first when I started reading this I became a little discouraged. I was like what is this man talking about? As I read on I began to learn more of the personal stories of the Maori culture rather than just a broad overview. They seemed to have great pride in their culture and felt protective to their land amongst new comers. I learned that there was some racism involved when some Europeans came. I think it’s pretty crazy to even comprehend what life was like back when these people were alive.

As I noted this text then goes into the European influences as well as the conflicts between the cultures. I learned the Europeans influenced dress, eating habits, everyday customs and even alcoholic beverages. I also read about the Treaty of Waitangi and the Maori Wars.

In the chapter entitled, State Experiments, in the second part of this book was interesting to me. I learned about the different struggles that came about while trying to set up a better-established government. They had controversies over land, finances, the economy, farming.

In the third section of the book I read about the politics involved in New Zealand. I learned about the Labour Party and what they did in the early 1900s. They promised many things to the people such as creating a more balanced economy. They hoped in the long run to “…place the country in a better position to withstand economic tremor or shock.” They also discussed educational improvements and better pensions.

I liked this book more when compared to Manning Clark’s, A Short History of Australia. I think it was more organized in the sense that it flowed better and it was easier to read. Maybe it’s harder to discuss Australia and New Zealand due to size or different events occurring on each country, but I think the style of writing was overall easier to follow in the Sinclair text.