1904: Ranfurly’s Farewell
March 25, 2021
By AHNZ
Today in history, 26 March, 1904, Governor Ranfurly visited the Urewera Maori. He is on a grand farewell tour of New Zealand and this is just one stop. A visit into a last, the last, stronghold of mysterious Maoridom in the deep dark forest of the Ureweras. About 12 years later it would be found to be too dark and mysterious so was raided by police to let in a little ‘light’.
“A trip made under primitive but enjoyable circumstances” before a return “safely back to civilisation”- Native Minister James Carol to Premier Joseph Ward; Ref. New Zealand Mail”
“The Urewera tribe and the tribes of Taupo and the Lake District are distinguished from the rest by their features, which approach more nearly the negro type….The Ureweras are far less refined and less intelligent than their neighbors…They show greater reluctance, to conform to European habits, and to admit the principles of Christianity.” – Apirana Ngata
Certainly political show business but a ‘gubernatorial party’ is simply a delegation of the Governor and his entourage. The Americans still use the word today (watching every episode of The West Wing keeps on paying and paying..)
There was only one party in New Zealand: The Liberals. That’s who we’re looking at here (image, top.) In this picture we have Dr Pomare, James Carroll (Min. Native Affairs,) and Lord Ranfurly (The Gov).
Governor Ranfurly had signed off on a number of things during his tenure, kicking off with New Zealand’s Boer War as well as the annexation of the Cook Islands and Niue.
In this, 1904, his farewell year, Ranfurley opened a Great Maori Conference on the fringe of Tuhoeland (image, right.) This was a meeting of the Maori Councils, a political institution set up to fail. The Councils had been teased, exploited, and exhausted by the Government in order to neutralise them politically.
Another thing that happened in 1904, on Ranfurley’s watch, was State confiscation of Waitomo Caves. The Liberal Government pushed out Maori from running the business and made it into their own ‘nationalised’ asset. Tourism is one of the ‘castles’ any Government likes to be in control of- a great money-maker for election campaigns.
The year 1904 was also the year the Ranfurley Shield was first won, this being a trophy donated by the Governor. Funny thing about that is that it was initially designed as a soccer trophy but the rugby guys got hold of it and even had the centerpiece of soccer players on a field modified to look as if it were a rugby scene!
Ranfurley was replaced by the even more infamous Governor Plunket. One of the first things he did was sign off on the Liberal’s Education Acts Compilation Act which required the compulsory education of blind and deaf children. Truly a Stolen Generation, and the political origin story of New Zealand’s unique deaf community today. Of course, the things done by Plunket and in Plunket’s name were just getting started…
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