Signposts - a blog about Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

All the entries in the new Social Connections theme are now available on the Te Ara website. These entries explore the dynamics of birthing and the solemnity of state funerals. They record the pleasures of family holidays as well as moments of passionate political activism on the Treaty of Waitangi, abortion, the 1981 Springbok tour, homosexual law reform, parental discipline of children, protests about hospital closures and the decriminalisation of sex work.

Now that the Social Connections entries are online, you can view the 1964 opening of National Women’s Hospital and watch Judge Silvia Cartwright respond in 1988 to questions at a news conference after the release of her report on the treatment of women for cervical cancer at this important obstetric and gynaecological hospital. Or you can dip into entries on love and romance, sexualities and weddings or access information about more uncomfortable topics such as child abuse, ethnic and religious intolerance and domestic violence.

These entries explore the pleasures of childhood, but they also record the regimentation of children in orphanages and the spartan austerity of industrial schools. Youth club dances and scout jamborees feature in these entries as well as older people’s enjoyment of time with one another and the interactions between grandparents and their grandchildren.

You can find out about the development of Auckland hospital and also about health consumer advocacy or catch a glimpse of dental nurses in training in 1945. There is information about Māori women’s health activism and about the use of wahakura, or traditionally woven sleeping bassinets, to avoid cot death among Maori babies. Graphs provide information about the relationship between gender, income and life expectancy and also rates of preventable hospital admissions among Pacific Peoples. They highlight the consequences of persisting economic disparities.

New Zealanders are increasingly likely to have no religious beliefs but spiritual beliefs and the activities of religious organisations have been very important in the history of this country. Entries on religion explore traditional Māori beliefs and cosmologies as well as the activities of 19th century missionaries. Pacific Islanders’ churches, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and the Korean Presbyterian Church also receive attention. These entries do no just explore religious beliefs and practices, but the relationship between religious belief and action on peace and social justice issues. Te Ara also captures the way in which people may be divided in death through an interactive map of the Karori cemetery with pop-up images of different sections of the cemetery.

New entries on the Te Ara site include moments that connect people from very different walks of life. One such moment was captured after Robert Muldoon’s funeral in September 1992 when Thea Muldon got into conversation with Black Power gang members. The activities of the Sensible Sentencing Trust are documented, as well as arguments by prisoners’ rights activists for less imprisonment and more attention to the social determinants of offending.

The publication of these entries marks the end of my involvement with Te Ara. Work on the Social Connections theme has been a wonderful opportunity to extend my understanding of relationships between people in families, homes, neighbourhoods, rural communities, small towns and cities and a variety of voluntary and professional organisations. I have also enjoyed working with the professional, imaginative and creative people that put together the words, images, sound files, video clips, diagrams and maps that make up the taonga that is Te Ara. At the heart of this online project are the social connections among this very dynamic team – largely invisible to those who access the website. Congratulations to all the writers, resourcers, editors and designers who contributed to the Social Connections theme and best wishes for your work on the next set of entries!

Rosemary Du Plessis

When we heard about the earthquake in Christchurch on 22 February 2011, one of the first thoughts of many Te Ara staff was of Rosemary, our theme editor for Social Connections. Rosemary is based in Christchurch, where she also works at the University of Canterbury. The next day, we were very relieved to get this email, letting us know she was alright, and describing her experience.

Yes, I am OK. I was in my office at University of Canterbury during the quake, which was quite a shake!

I had Tilly Flood in the office with me, the filmmaker who I was meeting to discuss our use of a segment from her Love is free documentary about a lesbian couple conceiving children with a known donor. I was showing her the draft caption when the room began to shake. She had her two-year-old twins with her, who were playing on the floor. We each dived for a child – Tilly went under the desk with Henry, I was in the middle of the floor with Vita underneath me to avoid the impact of flying books and folders.

We got out of the building quickly. I left my cell phone on my desk – not a good move – but I did take keys and my bag. We decided Tilly and the children would come back to my place instead of them being alone, but it took us three hours to get back, with a stop at a stranger’s house along the gridlocked way for toilet use and drinks.

The power came on after 8, which was a blessing. But those of you with pre-schoolers know that life with children of that age has its own dynamic, so I have not been very web-connected post power. We got heavy, shocking, ‘rumbles’  – as we refer to them for the children – all afternoon and through the night. They continue this morning. It was hard to get to sleep – I had about three hours. We hope to go out to seek milk and other necessities soon.

I’ve just had something that felt like a 4 in the last few moments. They occur sometimes at 10 to 45 minute intervals. Pretty disturbing. But we were so lucky to be in an earthquake strengthened building when it happened. My house is much more damaged than last time, but entirely liveable.

Whether you are a believer or not, religion matters! Te Ara has just published three new entries on Missions and missionaries, the Anglican Church and the Salvation Army. These entries highlight the importance of religion at a time when an increasing proportion of people indicate that they have no religious beliefs. Eventually there will be sixteen entries on different aspects of religion and its place in the spiritual, cultural and political life of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Missions and missionaries looks at attempts by Christian churches to convert Māori. It charts the origins of these activities in the establishment of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in London in 1799 and Samuel Marsden’s conviction that Māori would be receptive to Christianity. The importance of Māori–missionary collaboration is highlighted in the story of the relationship between Marsden and the chief Ruatara of Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands, who Marsden met while travelling from England to Australia.

The perils of missionary life – John Williams is not welcome on the island of Erromanga

Some early missionaries were controversial figures. Thomas Kendall produced the earliest written versions of Māori but was suspended by the CMS for adultery, and Henry Williams was accused of unfairly acquiring land from Māori. While Anglicans were the first to establish missions, the Wesleyan-Methodist Missionary Society (WMS) sent missionaries to New Zealand in 1822. The Methodist missionaries eventually established a mission on the Hokianga Harbour and started to convert Māori in 1830. The first Catholic mission was established near the Methodist mission by Jean Baptiste Pompallier in 1838. He brought with him a mobile altar – suitable for use in any number of different situations. Te Ara provides an interesting interactive map showing the mission stations established in the North Island by 1845.

The entries on the Anglican Church and the Salvation Army provide contrasting approaches to the way Christian churches have operated in Aotearoa New Zealand. Anglicans were the first church to become established and Henry Williams played an important role in persuading Māori chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. Anglicans not only had a role as negotiators between Māori and non-Māori – they sometimes acted as intermediaries between different Māori groups. The Anglican Church in New Zealand finalised its written constitution in 1857 and became very involved in the establishment of church schools, including schools for Māori, such as Te Aute Māori Boys’ College, at which several prominent Māori leaders received their education. While only 17% of all New Zealanders indicated they were Anglicans in the 2006 census, Anglicanism remains the largest single religious denomination.

The Salvation Army has never had the number of members enjoyed by the Anglican Church, but it has been a significant presence in Aotearoa since 1883. By 1886 the church had 5,000 members and in 1899 hosted a visit by William Booth, the British founder of the Salvation Army. Members focused on poverty as well as salvation. They defined themselves as God’s soldiers, dressed in uniforms, distributed The War Cry, and took their message into the streets through the use of brass bands and invitations to the ‘unsaved’ to ‘repent’. Women were active as officers in the Salvation Army and had more involvement in leadership than women in other more established churches.

The Salvation Army’s ‘mission’ was largely to the urban poor, but a mission to Māori – Te Ope Whakaora (the group of lifegivers) – was established on the Whanganui River in 1888. Māori members of this mission later formed a concert party and toured to raise money for the Salvation Army. This mission to Māori was short-lived and closed in the 1890s, but in the 21st century the church is active in its work with Māori, especially around issues relating to addiction.

We’ve already published an entry on Atheism and secularism, and future entries on religious belief and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand will include Māori spirituality, Māori prophetic movements, Te Haahi Rātana – the Rātana Church, and Ngā Haahi – Māori and Christian churches. Entries will also be published on each of the major Christian denominations, Pacific Island churches and the beliefs and practices of other religious traditions. Te Ara invites users to post their comments or offer their stories on these entries.

Five generations of the same family

Three new Te Ara entries look at New Zealanders of different ages – teenagers and youth, midlife adults and older people. Together with the recent entry on childhood, they explore what it means to move from childhood to adolescence, middle age and old age.

What is it like to be six, 16, 56 or 66? Why did The little red schoolbook generate so much fuss? When did people start to talk about ‘teenagers’? What can older people learn from adolescents? What does it mean to be ‘the sandwich generation’? Who gets to live longest, and what do older people do all day? These entries have answers to these and many other questions.

Find out about bodgies and widgies, milk-bar cowboys, beehives, rugby heads, tweens and what happened at the Hutt Valley Youth Club in the 1950s. Look at statistics on births to teenage mothers from the 1960s and find out about programmes to keep young mothers at school.

These entries show what people of different generations have in common, but also differences among them. People of all ages enjoy being with family, playing games with their friends and physical challenges. Older people as well as children and adolescents are engaged in study – some, like Marie Bell, even complete PhDs in their 80s. But the rates of death are different across these age groups, and for women and men.

New directions for midlife adults include embarking on an OE or a change in lifestyle at home. Older people both receive care and provide services for others. Some, like John Blundell, clean up the beaches while riding their mobility scooter.

Connections across generations are important. In these entries teenagers introduce older people to texting, parents in their 50s help adult children to purchase their first homes and grandparents care for grandchildren while their parents are in paid work. Older people provide emotional and financial support to middle-aged children but also receive help from them.

People of the same age group also enjoy time with one another. You can access a film clip of scouts on their way to the Pan Pacific jamboree in 1959, enjoy the flamboyant outfits of members of the Red Hat Society or connect to the pleasures of skateboarding and the Socialist Sunday School outing.

Political issues are also explored, including strategies to inform children about their rights as citizens and the activities of Grey Power. Debates about raising the driving age and parental support for tertiary students receive attention alongside the leisure activities of midlife adults.

Next month attention shifts to religious institutions with new entries on missions and missionaries, the Anglican Church and the Salvation Army…

A family pyramid

What connects us to those we love? What words do we use for these connections – aroha, alofa, love, agapē, liefde, érōs, amour? How do we become lovers, welcome the arrival of babies and juggle paid work, parenting and community activities? Does gender make a difference and, if so, how? What spiritual beliefs and practices are important when we farewell those we love, and how are burial practices changing?

Over the next year Te Ara will develop a new set of entries on ‘social connections’. New material is being written on whānau/families, love, courtship, marriage, civil unions, sexuality, birthing practices, adoption, contraception, childhood, gay and lesbian lives, ageing, funerals and inheritance. Entries on Māori love stories, Mills & Boon romances, dance floor courtship, and internet dating will be found alongside information about state regulation of marriage/civil unions, separation and divorce.

New migrant family

People connect not only as lovers, parents and children, but also as Māori and Pākehā, Samoan and Chinese, Catholic and Protestant, Morman and Buddhist. Aotearoa New Zealand is a place where for hundreds of years tangata whenua have been interacting with waves of new settlers. Te Ara will look at connections between Māori and non-Māori, between established settlers and newcomers, and how refugees and recent migrants build new community organisations. Racism and attempts to establish connections across difference will also feature in the social connections theme.

Relationships with others make us what we are as individuals and as a nation, but they can also be painful and damaging. So there will also be entries on family violence, the neglect and abuse of children, and crimes such as aggravated robbery and assault. How have voluntary organisations, churches, communities and the state responded to the challenges of abuse, neglect, poverty, disabilities, inequality and violence? What has been the response of the state? What public debate has occurred and how has it changed over time?

For many people religion/spirituality is central to their connectedness to Atua/God/Yahweh/Allah, to people, to other living things and the environment. How has religion and spirituality connected people and what tensions and conflicts have been associated with religious difference? What was the impact of missionary activity on Māori and what is the current place of Māori within established Christian churches? How do religious institutions respond to connections and differences among those in their communities? Contributors to Te Ara are currently writing entries that look at some answers to these questions.

The Claris family in 1912

Health and well-being also depend on social connections – on our relationships with family members, others in our communities and health practitioners. Te Ara will look at the interactions between providers and users of health services, at relationships among health professionals (like doctors and midwives) and new health initiatives like marae-based healthcare.

The web is a key way in which people now connect. And you can connect to Te Ara by sending us your stories about whānau/family, community organisations/clubs/societies, religious activities or health groups. Do you have photos of family events, balls and dances, church camps, public meetings, protests or community activities that we could use? Would you like to share your account of what it was like to set up a new community organisation?

Please go to http://www.mch.govt.nz/projects/web/teara/my-story.html if you have a story you would like to contribute, or join our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/teara/ if you have images you’d like to contribute.

We are keen to receive material between 1 August 2009 and 1 March 2010.

And only connect!