I must admit I came to New Zealand without researching the country at all. I also held a small minded impression that New Zealand would be essentially just like Australia. This of course is not true, and as I continue into this new calendar year, I tell myself that I will strive to be more conscious, more present, and take more care with my opinions.
All that soapbox speaking aside though, the human brain loves to create patterns, categories to make sense of our surroundings. The unfamiliar, is common in my life, from constantly moving to constantly being in a situation that I hadn't been in before so I excel at comparison.
While the townships here have reminded me of Tasmania, with the hobby farms, and the carelessly hand made signs propped up on the roadside to advertise all manner of attractions, the tourist trade in general is very like the Hawaiin islands. Many places are free if you are a resident which is also true of Hawaii, which makes sense because everything costs money, as anything that can monetized, is. Compared to America and also Australia everywhere there are signs of the indigenous people recovering, promoting, and continuing their culture even while all cultures seem destined to collide together.
The Maori tribes (over five hundred chiefs were noted as signing the treaty with the British) have a treaty for all New Zealand with the British Commonwealth.
The treaty was signed in 1840 in Waitangi which is now 506 hectares of national trust land. The photos are from the property.
There are artifacts on the property, a bit of reconstruction, and the 'Te Whare Runanga' treaty house built for the Centenary Celebrations of the treaty signing in 1940, and a 'Waka' or canoe. I will have to do some research on my own as I am intrigued now about the details of what led the British to accept a treaty.
All that soapbox speaking aside though, the human brain loves to create patterns, categories to make sense of our surroundings. The unfamiliar, is common in my life, from constantly moving to constantly being in a situation that I hadn't been in before so I excel at comparison.
While the townships here have reminded me of Tasmania, with the hobby farms, and the carelessly hand made signs propped up on the roadside to advertise all manner of attractions, the tourist trade in general is very like the Hawaiin islands. Many places are free if you are a resident which is also true of Hawaii, which makes sense because everything costs money, as anything that can monetized, is. Compared to America and also Australia everywhere there are signs of the indigenous people recovering, promoting, and continuing their culture even while all cultures seem destined to collide together.
The Maori tribes (over five hundred chiefs were noted as signing the treaty with the British) have a treaty for all New Zealand with the British Commonwealth.
The treaty was signed in 1840 in Waitangi which is now 506 hectares of national trust land. The photos are from the property.
There are artifacts on the property, a bit of reconstruction, and the 'Te Whare Runanga' treaty house built for the Centenary Celebrations of the treaty signing in 1940, and a 'Waka' or canoe. I will have to do some research on my own as I am intrigued now about the details of what led the British to accept a treaty.
1 comment:
I love the new blog header!
This collection of photos makes me think of "Whale Rider" and "When We Were Warriors."
This trip of yours to NZ is really awakening my travel bug! Not sure if I should thank you or not ;-)
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