Ohinemutus Hidden History
Hidden away amongst a collection of dilapidated cottages and maraes sits an inconspicuous memorial, not known by many. Yet its colourful history hides deeper meanings, with links to the empire as well as the ongoing controversies in a supposed post-colonial New Zealand.
The power of a leader and their influence can bring great pride to a nation. Such pride, as a result, has led to colonial nations such as New Zealand choosing to commemorate their imperial leaders in elaborate ways. But we must question, why do we choose to do this? And more importantly in the case of the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu, why do we see those most disadvantaged under her power choosing to erect a statue in her honour, despite the discrimination her influence allowed over New Zealand as an imperial nation. I believe unique memorials such as the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu, act as a symbol of commemoration for imperial power, and how this power has permeated across New Zealand historically, including within indigenous communities.
Memorials of Queen Victoria are not an uncommon sight across the imperial nation of New Zealand. With memorials created in her honour in Auckland, Wellington, and many others, yet none are as unique as the Victoria Memorial of Ohinemutu, a Maori village located in Rotorua. The memorial was presented to the local people as a gift by Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1875 to honour the local Te Arawa Tribe confederations role as colonial kūpapa (allies) during the still recent New Zealand Wars[i]. The memorial contains a bust of Queen Victoria, held up by a plinth decorated by Maori carvings, and surrounded by a canopy adorning the same Maori engravements. This form of memorial for the Queen alongside local references is most unusual when compared to the various other Queen Victoria memorials across New Zealand, all created with more European stylings in mind[ii]
Despite the purpose of the memorial to be that of a gift to New Zealand, controversy over its location at Ohinemutu started very early on. As discussed by Mark Stocker, apprehension was vocalised by many Europeans that Ohinemutu was still too primitive a locale for such a carving[iii], and at the time newspapers recorded strong opposition stating the Queen was being placed among obscene Maori carvings[iv]. Yet support for the memorial was divided among Maori. With the local Te Arawa being understood to embrace such signs of European power and sovereignty[v]. Yet destruction of the Queens bust occurred multiple times throughout the 19th Century including recently in 1995, citing the memorial as being a symbol of racist undertones.
It is from these understandings of the Queen Victoria Memorials intent; we can understand how such memorials act as a statement of how we continue to commemorate imperial power as a nation. As discussed by Miles Taylor, we can understand how for Pakeha, such early examples of memorials of imperial commemoration demonstrate their own version of patriotism and loyalty to Queen Victoria in a substantial way[vi]. Yet the memorial at Ohinemutu takes this a step further, through the initial acceptance by the local Te Arawa people of the memorial, not just Pakeha whose links to the British were much more familiar. Through the Te Arawa peoples acceptance, we can see how the loyalty to Queen Victoria was able to permeate into the indigenous populations of New Zealand.
But commemoration for Queen Victoria in New Zealand runs deeper than the Maori people accepting such tokens as a gift of gratitude. Commemoration of Queen Victoria, and any imperial figure, can be linked to the indigenisation of imperial desires, whereby including imperial figures in local Maori communities, the power of British ideals and the empire are able to immerse themselves, as a result leading to loss of Maori agency of their own culture and traditions. We can see examples of this in loss of Maori land, as well as the significant loss of language for the Maori people. As described by Stocker, Victoria was able to validate imperialism and render it harmless, even comforting her presence helped symbolize her as the Mother of her People and the Great White Empress[vii]. This can be directly linked to the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu, as simply her presence in the Maori village provides an indication of the empires power, and how her continued presence highlights how we continue to commemorate this power of the empire, and the Crown, in New Zealand indigenous communities in a postcolonial world.
These histories provide a backdrop to our daily lives in New Zealand, and how we continue to pay tribute to our imperial past. But what captured my attention most was how memorials such as the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu provide us with a unique perspective on this idea, where the Eurocentric love for imperial figures being set in stone is challenged in the form of an inconspicuous memorial surrounded by indigenous influences. And how its controversial history continues to play with this idea of indigenous agency, as well as how we have, and continue to, commemorate the British empire despite the controversies at hand.
[i] Mark Stocker, A token of their love: Queen Victoria Memorials in New Zealand, Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century, (2016) p. 2
[ii] As viewed in Fig. 1 (Retreived from https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/queen-victoria-statue-st-faiths-church-ohinemutu-rotorua-nz-postcard-d22/23870935)
[iii] Mark Stockers Chapter, An Imperial Icon Indigenised: the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu in Pickles & Colebornes New Zealands Empire. p. 35
[iv] Stockers Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu (2016). p. 37 on the controversies of the memorial portrayed through media of the time
[v]Stockers Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu (2016). p. 41
[vi] Spoken in Miles Taylors lecture on Queen Victoria and New Zealand held at the Margaret Avery Memorial Lecture on 20 September 2006, University of Waikato. This is also cited in Mark Stockers A token of their love: Queen Victoria Memorials in New Zealand, (2016) p. 4
[vii]Mark Stockers Chapter, An Imperial Icon Indigenised: the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu in Pickles & Colebornes New Zealands Empire. p. 41
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