1951: Death of Peter Buck

December 1, 2021

By AHNZ

Died today in history, 1 December, 1951, a very great New Zealander, Peter Buck. He stands here with a monument in Tahiti. In death, Buck sort of became a monument himself since his ashes are incorporated into a monument in Taranaki.

The son of an Irish policeman, Buck had a Maori mother so also inherited a Maori name: Te Rangihiroa. After blunting himself on the waste of time that is politics he rebounded into his interest in the academic humanities.

“Who is the greatest Maori of our time, of our 50 years? I would say Te Rangihiroa. Who is the greatest pakeha? I would say Sir Peter Buck. The two men are one. Who is the greatest New Zealander in our 50 years? There is only one man so close to the top on both sides—Sir Peter Te Rangihiroa Buck.” – Roger Duff, Christchurch Press; Papers Past

“The Maori communistic system is based on their manner of holding property. With the individualisation of Maori lands, communism and its evils will disappear.” – Buck, Ref. AHNZ

Part of my appreciation and affinity for Buck is that he is of what the Strauss-Howe model calls a Nomad, just like me and all other Generation X New Zealanders. In American terms he is part of the Lost Generation. Alienated, neglected, and sandwiched between two powerful generations that throw their weight around; That’s the Nomad. GenX know what it’s like having Boomers dominate the culture all their life and no sooner do they start to age and fade than along come the Millennials to take center stage before the GenX can catch a break. This profile does help Nomads finally get into a good stride in their mature years and so it was with Buck.

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Ref. The Maori Communistic System, AHNZ

Image ref. Inside cover of Vikings of the Sunrise, Buck (1938)

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