Looking back at history

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1880s, 1910s, 1920s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, art history, economics, history, law, library, Maori, politics

Professor Angus Ross engaging another generation of potential history students at the Taieri High School breakup ceremony, 1965. Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, Taieri College archives, AG-629-015/060, S17-542a.

History has been around for a while! It first appeared at the University of Otago in 1881 when John Mainwaring Brown, the new professor of English, constitutional history and political economy, taught constitutional history to a class of two students. It was a subject designed for lawyers, covering ‘the development of the English Constitution, and of the Constitutional relations between the Mother Country and the Colonies’. The course, compulsory for the LLB degree, was also open to BA students. Mainwaring Brown’s career was cut tragically short when he disappeared during a tramping expedition in Fiordland in December 1888. The university council recognised that it would be difficult to find somebody capable and willing to teach all of the subjects he had covered and appointed a new professor of English, with separate lecturers for constitutional history and political economy (economics). Alfred Barclay, one of Otago’s earliest graduates and a practising barrister, taught constitutional history for many years, except in the early years of the 20th century when the law school was closed and the subject wasn’t offered.

Harry Bedford, Otago’s first ‘English history’ lecturer. This photograph, taken by William Henshaw Clarke around 1902, was his official portrait as a Member of Parliament. Image courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library, General Assembly Library parliamentary portraits, 35mm-00168-f-F.

In 1914, history emerged as a subject in its own right with a new course in ‘English history’. It was taught by Harry Bedford, who had been Otago’s economics lecturer since 1907. Bedford had an impressive CV; he was a brilliant local graduate who started his working life in his father’s tailoring business, served a term in parliament, and practised law while lecturing at Otago. The syllabus for ‘English history’ included ‘a study of the outlines of the History of England, including the development of the constitution down to 1900’, with a more detailed study of a different period each academic year. Constitutional history continued as a separate course for law students, and Bedford also devoted two special lectures a week to ‘Modern History, as prescribed for Commerce students’ from 1916. Bedford was an inspiring teacher and his appointment to a new professorship in economics and history in 1915 came as no surprise. Sadly, he was another promising young professor destined for a tragic death; he drowned during a beach holiday in 1918. With the times still unsettled due to war, the council appointed Archdeacon Woodthorpe, the retired Selwyn warden, as acting professor. But they felt the time had now come to separate the growing disciplines of economics and history, and in 1920 John Elder of Aberdeen was appointed to a new chair in history, endowed by the Presbyterian Church.

Though the Presbyterians selected, appropriately enough, a ‘conservative and hard working Presbyterian’ from Scotland as Otago’s first history professor, Elder brought considerable innovation to the chair. He continued an extensive publishing career commenced in Scotland, producing both popular and academic works on New Zealand history at a time when ‘it was highly unusual for colonial professors to publish anything’. His developing interest in New Zealand’s history was also reflected in the curriculum, which expanded to include more coverage of this country and other colonies among the broad survey courses on offer. He valued archival research highly; this was made possible thanks to the resources held at the Hocken Library, and Elder required MA students to complete a thesis based on such sources. His dour manner didn’t endear him to students, though, and he soon put a stop to a young lecturer’s introduction of seminar discussions: ‘These young men like to hear themselves talk but you’re paid to lecture … So long as I’m head of this department, there’ll be no discussions’.

William Parker Morrell, photographed in 1930 while studying at Oxford. Image courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Judith Morrell Nathan collection, ref: 1/2-197548-F.

In 1946 William Morrell – who featured in an earlier blog post on absent-minded professors – succeeded Elder as professor of history. He was a local graduate who studied and taught at Oxford and the University of London, and published widely on imperial and New Zealand history; he later took on the important role of writing the university’s centenary history! Morrell believed not only that history illuminated the present, but that the political state was worthy of study in its own right, and it was through his influence that politics joined the Otago syllabus, initially as part of the history department. Ted Olssen, an Adelaide graduate, was appointed to teach political science and classes commenced in 1948. Students emerging out of the war years and their clash of political ideologies demonstrated an appetite for the subject; it grew and became a separate department in 1967.

Like his predecessors, Willie Morrell believed that New Zealanders’ study of history needed to start with the histories of Britain and Europe, but an imperial framework meant that regions which had come under European control – including New Zealand and the Pacific – also appeared on the syllabus. Gordon Parsonson, who first joined the department as assistant lecturer in 1951 and remains an active researcher in his late 90s, was partly hired because of his interest and experience in Melanesia, acquired during World War II military service there. Angus Ross was another lecturer with expertise on New Zealand and Pacific history, though his distinguished war service had been in Europe. After many years in the department he succeeded Morrell as professor in 1965 and ‘steered the department away from the legacy of imperial history by making appointments trained to look at imperialism from the perspective of the colonised’. John Omer-Cooper, a specialist in African history, took up the newly-established second chair in history in 1973, while Hew McLeod, who became a world-renowned expert on Sikh history and culture, joined the department to teach Asian history in 1971. From 1975 a revamped curriculum gave students majoring in history broader choices; previously compelled to start with European history, they could now, if they wished, focus instead on New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific or Asian history.

Barbara Brookes and Ann Trotter at a Federation of University Women event at the Fortune Theatre, 1993. Image courtesy of Ann Trotter.

Under the umbrella of the histories of various regions, new themes began to emerge, often led by younger staff. Erik Olssen and Dorothy Page, both appointed in 1969 and both future heads of department, became pioneers of social history and women’s history respectively. Ross had a policy of appointing women where possible; although Morrell had also appointed a couple of women in the 1940s, men had long dominated the staff. The policy of recruiting good women academics continued and by the late 1980s they made up nearly half the department. In addition to Page, there were Barbara Brookes (another women’s history expert), Ann Trotter (who taught Asian history and subsequently became assistant-VC for humanities), Pacific historian Judy Bennett and long-serving lecturer Marjorie Maslen.

Angela Wanhalla and Judy Bennett in 2009. Photograph by Sue Lang, courtesy of the history and art history department.

As part of the new movement towards social history, Olssen embarked on the Caversham project, a long-running study of historic residents of southern Dunedin. Generations of honours and postgrad students mined the huge store of data for new insights into work, politics, gender, culture and society in New Zealand’s earliest industrial suburbs. Other new themes which became popular in the late 20^th century included environmental history and intellectual history (the history of ideas, incorporating science and religion), while world history provided an antidote to specialism in particular places and eras. A growing – if belated – awareness of the significance of Māori perspectives of history saw the appointment of Michael Reilly to a joint position in history and Māori studies in 1991. He later became full-time in Māori studies, but in the 21^st century the history department was fortunate to recruit two brilliant young Ngāi Tahu scholars, Angela Wanhalla and Michael Stevens.

History, like any other department, had its ups and downs through the years; funding was often tight and the trend towards lower enrolments in the humanities led to a loss of two staff in 2016. Art history joined the department in 2001, with a change in name to the history and art history department in 2008. Throughout, it remained a highly productive department with an excellent research record, ranking first in New Zealand for history and art history in the 2003 and 2006 PBRF rounds. It was no slouch in teaching either; in 2002, when OUSA gave its first teaching awards, history was the only department to have two people – Tom Brooking and Tony Ballantyne – in the top 10. As a proud graduate of Otago’s history department, I can testify to the great skills of its staff!

Recruiting a new generation of students, 2016-style. These secondary students, photographed at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, were attending a ‘hands-on history’ course run by the university. Photograph by Jane McCabe, courtesy of the history and art history department.

 

Photo mysteries

Tags

1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, capping, Christchurch, food science, Helensburgh, languages, Maori, medicine, microbiology, physical education, recreation, St Margaret's

This is a plea for help! Today’s post is rather different from previous ones. I’m posting some photographs I’d like to know more about. Some have appeared on the blog previously, while others are new. They’re all interesting images that I’m thinking of including in the University of Otago history book, and it would be great to have more details before they appear in print. Do you recognise any of the people or places or activities, or can you help with missing dates? If so, I’d love to hear from you, either by a comment on this post, or by email or letter (the ‘about’ page has a link to my university staff page with contact details).

I’ve gathered lots of images from archival, personal and departmental collections over the last few years, but I’m still short in some areas. In particular, I’m keen to locate photos relating to activities involving the commerce division/school of business and the humanities division (though I have a good supply of photos for the languages departments). Zoology, maths and psychology are other departments I’d like to find more images for. Where more general images of student life are concerned, I’d love to find a few photos relating to life in student flats and to lodgings and landladies. I have plenty of capping parade photos, but some other photos of student activities would be great. Overall, the 1980s are a bit of a gap in my lists of potential illustrations, so I’m on the lookout especially for anything from that decade, and to a lesser extent the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s. Another major gap is for images relating to the Christchurch, Wellington and Invercargill campuses. If you have any interesting photos you would be willing to lend to the project, please do get in touch!

Now, on with the mystery photos …

1. Gentlemen dining

Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, Irvine family papers, MS-4207/006, S16-669a.

These gentlemen, about to indulge in a little fine dining at the Christchurch Club, have connections to the early years of the Christchurch Clinical School (now the University of Otago, Christchurch). Those I have identified so far were either senior Christchurch medical men or Otago administrators and members of the Christchurch Clinical School Council. That council was organised in 1971 and met for the first time in 1972. Max Panckhurst, an Otago chemistry professor who was on the council, died in 1976, so the photo must date from before that, and since it also features Robin Williams, who completed his term as Otago Vice-Chancellor in 1973, it probably comes from the early 1970s. Do you know the exact occasion or year?

The men I have identified are, starting from Max Panckhurst, who is closest to the camera with fair curly hair, and working clockwise: LM Berry, Carl Perkins, George Rolleston, Robin Williams, Leslie Averill, Alan Burdekin (Christchurch Club manager,standing), Bill Adams, LA Bennett, Robin Irvine, unknown, unknown, Pat Cotter (partly obscured), D Horne, Don Beaven, unknown, Fred Shannon, Athol Mann, JL Laurenson. Do you recognise anybody else? Or have I got any of these wrong? Some other potential candidates, who were also on the Clinical School Council, are EA Crothall, DP Girvan, TC Grigg and CF Whitty.

2. Burgers

Were you a Burger? After I published a story about Helensburgh House, a student hall of residence in the former Wakari nurses’ home, I met up with Glenys Roome, who had been its warden. She kindly shared some photos, including these three. Helensburgh House ran from 1984 to 1991 – I’d love to identify which year these were taken, and perhaps some names!

 

3. The missing singer

Photo courtesy of Michael Shackleton.

All but one of the members of the 1952 sextet in this photo are identified – can you help with the full name of the young man third from left? His first name was John. The lineup was, from left: Linley Ellis, Richard Bush, John ?, Keith Monagan, Michael Shackleton, Brian McMahon. The story of the sextet featured in an earlier post.

4. On the rocks

Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, Otago University Tramping Club records, 96-063/036, S15-592b.

This is one of my favourite photos – it’s already featured on the blog a couple of times and is sure to end up in the book! In the original tramping club album it is identified as being at Mihiwaka, but somebody kindly pointed out when I posted about the tramping club that this is most likely taken from Mount Cargill. Do you recognise this spot? And can you identify any of the 1946 trampers?

5. Phys-eders

The School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences has kindly shared some of their photo collection. The photograph on the beams was taken in the 1970s – were you there, and do you know the exact year? How about the others – any ideas where and when they were taken, or who the people are? I published a post about the early years of the phys ed school in an earlier post, and there are photos on that I’d love to have more information about too, so please take a look!

6. Te Huka Mātauraka

Photo courtesy of the Māori Centre

This photo was taken outside the Māori Centre, Te Huka Mātauraka, in 2002 and featured in a post about the centre. Can you identify anybody?

7. Microbiologists

Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, Department of Physiology records, r.6681, S16-521c.

This photograph is a good example of the value of this blog. In the original, the man is identified as Franz Bielschowsky, of the cancer research laboratory. When I included it in a story featuring Bielschowsky, people informed me that the man here is actually Leopold Kirschner, a microbiologist working in the Medical Research Council Microbiology Unit. It was probably taken in 1949. Typically for that period, the female assistant is not named – do you know who she is? What, exactly, are they doing? I suspect health and safety procedures have changed since then!

Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Photographic Unit records, MS-4185/042, S15-500d.

Here’s another microbiology-related photo, taken during the first hands-on science camp in 1990 – it featured in an earlier post about hands-on science. Can you identify any of these high school students? I’m curious to know if any of them ended up as University of Otago students!

8. The St Margaret’s ball

Image courtesy of Peter Chin.

This photograph, taken at an early 1960s St Margaret’s ball, featured in a story about Chinese students at Otago. At centre front are Jocelyn Wong and Peter Chin – can you identify anybody else? Exactly which year was it?

9. Picnickers

 

Image courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library, Ref: 1/2-166716-F. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22884184

The Latin picnic was a popular event in the early twentieth century. This photo was taken at Whare Flat in 1932 – it featured in an earlier post about writers at the university. People identified so far include Dan Davin, on the far right, with Angus Ross in front of him and Christopher Johnson to Davin’s right. Other students include Frank Hall (back left), Winnie McQuilkan (centre front) and Ida Lawson (in dark jacket behind her). The Classics staff, Prof Thomas Dagger Adams and Mary Turnbull, are at front left. Can you identify anybody else?

10. In the food science lab

I featured these mystery photos quite some time ago on the blog, and people have identified Rachel Noble, a 1980s student, as the woman in the centre of the bottom image. The food scientists tell me these students were in the yellow lab, possibly working on an experimental foods course or the product development course run by Richard Beyer. Can you help with the date, or identify any of the other students?

Images courtesy of the Hocken Collections, from the archives of the Association of Home Science Alumnae of NZ, MS-1516/082, S13-556b (above) and S13-556c (below).

 

I have quite a few other photograph puzzles, but will save those for future posts!

Update

Thanks very much to those of you who have identified some of the mystery people already – yay! And thanks for the kind offers of further photographs. For those with photographs, here are a few instructions. If they’re already digital, that’s great. If you are scanning them, it would help if you make them high resolution (say 300dpi), preferably in TIFF format, but JPEGs are okay. If they are hard copy, I’m happy to scan them for you if you’re willing to lend them to me – I promise to return them promptly. I can pick up items if you’re in Dunedin, otherwise you can post them to me (it’s probably easiest if you send them to Ali Clarke, c/o Hocken Collections, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054). Remember if you’re sending images that you need to be willing for them to appear, potentially, in the new university history book (due out 2019) or on this blog! I’ll send you a form to sign granting permission for their use in university publications. Any published photos will be attributed to you; do let me know if there’s a photographer I should clear copyright with as well. Thanks 🙂

 

The lives of presidents

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1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, international students, Maori, sports, women

A gathering of former OUSA presidents at the association’s centenary in 1990. Image courtesy of Hocken Collections, OUSA archives, MS-4225/306, S15-500e.

This year the Otago University Students’ Association celebrates 125 years of existence. To mark the occasion, I thought it would be interesting to look back at 125 years of student presidents. On 20 May 1890 a general meeting of Otago students decided to form an association and at a second meeting on 30 May it was formally established, with William Edward Spencer as the first president. Spencer, a 26-year-old postgraduate science student, was an “able and energetic” president. There was “no man who was more enthusiastic at [the association’s] inception than Mr Spencer,” commented his successor, Alexander Hendry. Like many students of his era, Spencer had a career in teaching. He had already worked as a pupil teacher for some years before starting university study in the mid-1880s and may well have continued to teach while completing his degrees in arts and science. After completing a year as OUSA president he became a school inspector. He later worked in senior positions for the Department of Education in Wellington, including 11 years as editor of the School Journal.

Many “able and energetic” young men and women have followed in Spencer’s footsteps as president, though of course there has been the occasional rogue among them. I’ve heard stories that one 1990s president, who shall remain nameless, could always be detected approaching by the perfume of marijuana. Others have made dubious financial decisions. Most, though, have been upstanding characters in a very demanding role as chair of the association and public spokesperson for Otago students. In some years there was stiff competition for the role, and winning the election required considerable charm, ambition and political nous.

As the photo of presidents gathered for the 1990 centenary suggests, the presidency was pretty much a male Pakeha preserve until the 1980s. There were some notable exceptions, one being the most famous former president, Peter Buck, also known as Te Rangi Hiroa, after whom an Otago residential college is now named. He was OUSA president in 1903 while completing his medical studies. He became a key figure in the Maori renaissance of the early twentieth century, represented Northern Maori in parliament, and was later a distinguished anthropologist. Another trailblazer was 1971 president Ebraima Manneh, the first international student in the role. He led OUSA during a turbulent year of student protest over the university’s discipline regulations. He later became a senior public servant in the Gambia, his home country.

For many years women served on the OUSA as “lady vice-president” – a role popularly abbreviated to “lady vice”. In 2006 the OUSA, which bestowed life membership on its former presidents, extended the privilege to Nola Holmes (nee Ross) as a representative of “all of the women who served OUSA on the executive and in assisting roles since our beginnings whose contributions, before the 1980s, were largely unacknowledged.” Ross, the lady vice-president in 1947, was remembered for holding the association together when the University Council forced president John Child to resign after he made controversial speeches about sexual and religious freedom. Finally, in 1983, Phyllis Comerford served as OUSA’s first female president and she was succeeded by another woman, Robyn Gray. Since they broke the barrier, a third of the presidents have been female. They include the only person to serve two terms in recent times, Harriet Geoghegan, who was president in 2010 and 2011.

Quite a few people served two terms as president in the association’s earlier decades, but only one has served for three years – the gloriously named Philippe Sidney de Quetteville Cabot (best known as Sid). Cabot was president in the mid-1920s; he had previously been president of the Teachers’ College Students’ Association. He was also one of the instigators of the national organisation, the National Union of Students, serving as its founding president. Cabot completed several degrees at Otago and overseas, eventually becoming a clinical psychologist. He was very good at sport, playing a game for the All Blacks in 1921. Other presidents known for their sporting prowess include Colin Gilray (1907 president) and Frank Green (1936) in rugby and Bill Hawksworth (1934) in cricket. 1988 president Jon Doig, the first from the School of Physical Education, became Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland.

Unsurprisingly, several presidents continued in politics beyond their student days. Besides Te Rangi Hiroa, the best known is Grant Robertson, OUSA president in 1993, who is now member of parliament for Wellington Central and a highly-ranked member of the Labour caucus. Those who have worked long-term for the association remember him as one of the most capable presidents. A few others from recent decades have directed their political skills towards the public service, with several working for Foreign Affairs and Trade: David Payton (1974 president), Kirsty Graham (1992), Chris Tozer (1996) and Renee Heal (2007). From an earlier generation, Doug Kennedy, 1937 president, renowned for his pranks and radical politics, became Director General of Health for New Zealand. Until the 1960s many presidents were, like Kennedy, medical students (though few of them shared his radical politics). After that medical presidents became rare, and in recent decades law and/or politics students have been prevalent among presidents.

Some presidents went on to mark their mark in the academic world. Alexander “Swotty” Aitken, the 1919 and 1920 president, was a famous mathematician. Others had distinguished academic careers in demography (Mick Borrie, 1938), physics (Jack Dodd, 1946), economics (Frank Holmes, 1947) and medicine (Jack Stallworthy, 1930-1931; Ken North, 1953; Murray Brennan, 1964). Many became well-known doctors or lawyers, and 1968 president Bruce Robertson was a Court of Appeal judge. Some, like 2001 president Ayesha Verrall, are at earlier stages of careers which hold much promise.

Congratulations to OUSA on reaching its 125th anniversary! Do you have any stories to share of former presidents? And I’d love to get in touch with Phyllis Comerford or Ebraima Manneh if you’re out there! (my email is ali.clarke at the university).

2014 OUSA president Ruby Sycamore-Smith was the 12th woman to take on the role. She is pictured during art week. Image courtesy of OUSA.

Maori Studies celebrates

Tags

1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Maori, university extension

Maori Studies staff in 1991. Standing (from left): Mark Laws, Maureen Bruce, Godfrey Pohatu, Meredith ?, Michael Reilly, Mereana Smith. Seated: Lorraine Johnson, Toroa Pohatu. They are photographed at the Mataatua wharenui at Otago Museum, often used for Maori Studies events prior to its return to Ngati Awa in Whakatane in 1996. Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, University of Otago Photographic Unit records, MS-4185/016, S14-561a.

Maori Studies was slow to get started at Otago, but once underway it grew rapidly and became a key part of the university. This month – 27 March to be precise – marks 25 years since Maori Studies officially became a full university department and in May it will celebrate this anniversary in style.

As I described in a previous post, the Department of University Extension began community classes in te reo Maori in 1957. These classes proved popular and expanded over the years; a considerable number of those involved were students, who did not have any options for including te reo Maori in an Otago degree. It was demand from students that finally got the university talking about offering Maori as an undergraduate course.

In 1971 the Faculty of Arts set up a committee “to examine the case for establishing courses in Maori”. After consulting widely, the committee recommended in 1972 that Otago should establish a Maori programme: after all, studying the language was “both an opportunity and a responsibility for all New Zealand universities” and there was “a genuine and wide interest” in such a course from students. The faculty approved in principle, but promptly shelved further action until 1975, when the next government five-yearly funding block grant began.

The committee believed it was important that “the first member of staff appointed in Maori be of very high academic quality and that the appointment be made at the level of senior lecturer at least.” The focus on academic qualifications had unfortunate consequences. In June 1975 the academic staffing committee decided that neither of the two applicants for the position was suitable. Conscious that Maori language teachers with higher academic qualifications were rare and in hot demand as Maori courses expanded all over the country, the staffing committee took an alternative approach. Ray Harlow, who had a PhD and had already lectured in the Department of Classics, was an able linguist who currently taught in Germany and planned to study Polynesian languages and literature at the University of Munich. Otago offered him a post-doctoral fellowship to study for a year in Germany, followed by a year at the University of Auckland, studying Maori with Prof Bruce Biggs. After his two years of study was complete, they expected to offer him a position lecturing in Maori.

Unsurprisingly, the news that Otago’s first Maori lecturer was to be a Pakeha who had, as yet, a limited knowledge of te reo, caused a public outcry, with letters appearing in the press around the country.The delay of another two years was also a frustration for those campaigning for a Maori course. The university Maori Club – one of the original advocates for an undergraduate course – was particularly critical of the delay and of the appointment of a person without standing within the Maori community, but it was not alone. Over a thousand people signed a petition protesting that the course would no longer commence in 1976. The university also received a delegation of the Maori Graduates Association, consisting of a high-powered group of Maori academics, professionals and students.

In a concession to Maori concerns the university brought forward its original intention to appoint a second lecturer; this time it hoped to attract “a suitably qualified native-speaker of Maori” and the Maori Graduates Association agreed to encourage applications. However, finding somebody proved difficult. In 1979 the Dean of Arts reported that the position had been offered to three people over the past four years but all had declined; Otago still had no undergraduate course in Maori.

Harlow returned to Otago in 1977 and taught linguistics. In 1980 the Faculty of Arts decided it could delay no longer. Having failed to find another suitable lecturer, it introduced a half-unit in Maori language for beginners in 1981, taught by Harlow. This was “an interim measure pending the introduction of a full unit in Maori when a native-speaking lecturer can be appointed.” It’s important to note that nobody had any personal objection to Harlow. When he left for a position as lecturer in Maori Studies at Waikato at the end of 1989 the Maori Centre newsletter noted he had been “an ardent supporter of nga mea Maori generally on campus and at the multitribal Arai-te-Uru Marae.” He was also an able linguist, recognised in his appointment to Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission.

So, the Maori programme finally got underway in 1981, with the class limited to 32 students for the first four years. A new phase of development began with the arrival of Godfrey Pohatu as lecturer in 1986. After ten years of trying the university had finally found its first Maori lecturer of Maori. Pohatu was an experienced teacher who was part-way through a Master of Education degree at Canterbury; he went on to complete a PhD at Otago in 1998. He was also very active in Maori cultural groups and became a well-known composer of waiata. After all the years of delay there were big expectations of Pohatu; he was fortunate to have great support from his wife, Toroa, who was also an experienced teacher and cultural performer, fluent in te reo Maori.

Toroa Pohatu joined her husband as a lecturer in the Maori programme in 1988. The additional staffing was much needed, for the number of students grew rapidly; there were 212 first-years to be taught that year. A cultural paper – introducing basic cultural concepts, mythology, arts and crafts – was added to the language paper in 1987, meaning students could now complete a full stage one unit in Maori. The same year saw the birth of Te Kapa Haka o Te Whare Wananga o Otakou, a Maori cultural group tutored by the Pohatus which had considerable success at Maori performing arts festivals. The Maoritanga paper quickly proved popular with a wide range of students seeking a basic understanding of the Maori world, and it remains one of Otago’s largest papers. Stage 2 papers started in 1989 and in 1990, with the arrival of Stage 3 papers, it became possible to major in Maori Studies.

At Auckland, Massey, Victoria and Canterbury universities, Maori studies commenced within anthropology departments. At Otago, though anthropology was a department where Maori students felt particularly welcomed, the subject of Maori studies had a different path. Rather than being attached to a particular department, Maori started out as a ‘section’ within the arts faculty, directly responsible to the dean of arts and with an advisory committee of the faculty. This allowed it to develop independently and rapidly, but not entirely unsupported. In 1990 – the year when Stage 3 papers were first offered and Otago’s first Maori studies majors completed their degrees – it gained formal recognition as an independent university department.

After these long and tricky beginnings, 1990 was clearly a major milestone for Maori Studies at Otago – something worth celebrating in 2015! The department – which evolved into Te Tumu, the School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies – has had various ups and downs since 1990, but enters its second quarter-century in a flourishing state with many great achievements behind it. Do you have any memories to share of the early years of Maori Studies at Otago?

A home away from home – the Maori Centre

Tags

1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Maori

Students outside the Maori Centre in 2002. Can you identify anybody? Photo courtesy of the Maori Centre.

Te Huka Matauraka – the Maori Centre – has contributed to a quiet revolution at Otago. The university had a few Maori students from the 1890s onwards (I’ve written about some of the earliest here), but numbers remained very low until the late 20th century. The Maori Club, founded by Maori students in 1960, became a focus for cultural and social activities, while the local Maori community also provided informal support to students. With just 20 or 30 students identifying as Maori in the 1960s and 1970s, it wasn’t difficult for them to all know one another. Numbers steadily grew through the 1980s – in 1987 Otago had 171 Maori students, representing 2% of enrolments. This was an improvement, but still a great under-representation of Maori, and students and the community campaigned for action by university authorities. The 1987 Watts Report on New Zealand universities commented, “The low participation of the Maori people in university studies is of very real concern.” While there had been recent positive initiatives relating to Maori in the universities (mostly beyond Otago), the report commented that “the Maori struggle for recognition in many aspects of New Zealand life is far from won either in the universities or elsewhere. We think that universities have a responsibility to give a lead to the rest of the community.”

In response to the Watts Report, the government released special equity funding. The University of Otago used its share to appoint its first Maori liaison officer, Khyla Russell (then Khyla Camp), in 1988, and to open the Maori Centre in 1989. The centre opened in an old house which had been a student flat, on the corner of Castle St, Montgomery Ave and St David St. At the end of 1989 the first administrator, Winsome Dacker, reported in newsletter Mea Maori that the centre was already a hive of activity. It had three main roles: to assist and retain existing university students; to provide a link between the university and the Maori community, including bridging programmes for adult students; and to support Maori school students “to stimulate a desire for further study” and help them qualify for entrance (the Watts Report had identified the small proportion of Maori completing higher secondary qualifications as a key factor in low university enrolment). It had also become more than this: many people turned to the centre for advice on things Maori, including advice on establishing bicultural approaches and providing translation. “Wherever possible we have assisted or been able to delegate the task”, reported Dacker.

Students from Bluff School outside the Maori Centre in 2000. Instilling a desire for tertiary education in young Maori was an important part of the centre’s work. Image courtesy of the Maori Centre.

For 15 years the Maori Centre also provided a home for Arai Te Uru Kohanga Reo. The language nest had started at Arai Te Uru Marae and then moved to the Otago Polytechnic’s Maori Centre. It’s move to the new university Maori Centre fitted well with the needs of the many parents who were university staff or students. It also “enriched the centre with the living Maori language”. The young kohanga children provided “an obvious source of potential students who are completely ‘au fait’ with the University” and also drew “many Maori people who have not previously been on Campus”. As a bonus, the “two dedicated kaiako” (teachers) – Nanny Aya and Mereana Smith – were always ready to assist university students with their te reo Maori skills. The kohanga moved to Ravensbourne in 2004.

Health science students at a tutorial in the Maori Centre, 2000. Image courtesy of the Maori Centre.

Tutorials were always at the heart of the Maori Centre’s work. They assisted students with study and exam skills, as well as with information relating to specific university courses. While the students were Maori, the tutors came from a wide range of backgrounds. “We look for the best,” regardless of ethnicity, comments current manager Pearl Matahiki. Among the first tutors were Mua and Linda Strickson-Pua, who were tutoring in the Department of Education and saw a need for additional support for Maori. Mua was a New Zealand Samoan studying theology; Linda was of English descent but raised among Maori in Ruatoria. “It is no mean feat dealing with students who are daunted by the University,” reported Mea Maori, but “this pair made study enjoyable and stimulating. Laughter was a feature of their group.” The tutorials took place – and when possible still do – in the Maori Centre itself, where the students could feel comfortable.

In 1991 administrator Miria Thorn noted that 60 students had used the Maori Centre tutorial programme in 1990, and all but 4 had passed their exams. An independent survey by the Department of Maori Studies also reported an increase in Maori pass rates. The centre was clearly contributing to Maori success, though it still ran on a shoe-string budget with volunteer tutors. The staff gradually expanded as the Maori roll grew. A tutor co-ordinator was appointed in 1990 and a part-time secretary in 1991; from 1991 the Maori liaison officer, previously based in the registry, also moved into the Maori Centre. The centre expanded into another old Castle Street house, leaving the kohanga in the original building. It eventually made its long-term home in two adjacent houses, linked together and refurbished with an attractive entrance; a third house is shared with Te Roopu Maori (the Maori Students Association). The centre’s original te reo Maori name, Te Hunga Matauranga, was later changed to Te Huka Matauraka to promote the local Kai Tahu dialect.

Poet Hone Tuwhare, awarded an honorary doctorate, with young graduates Rachel Potae (medicine) and Craig Campbell (dentistry) at the Maori Centre’s pre-graduation celebration, December 1998. Image courtesy of the Maori Centre.

By 1994 there were 877 Otago students who identified as Maori, making up 5.9% of the roll. Godfrey Pohatu, who headed the Department of Maori Studies, was delighted, giving kudos to Maori liaison, which took “the University of Otago to the people and to potential Maori students”, and “the excellent support networks”. Maori liaison officer Luella Narayan commented that “much of the credit should go to the Maori Centre Administrator who gives academic, psychological and social support to Maori students”. Maori student growth continued to stay ahead of the overall growth in the roll: by 2000, 6.2% of students were Maori and in 2013 there were 1682 Maori students, accounting for 9.2% of Otago’s domestic students. Celebrating Maori achievement was an important part of the centre’s ethos, and from 1996 it arranged special Maori pre-graduation celebrations for Maori graduates and their whanau.

Catering for all this growth of course required more resources. In 2000 the centre was restructured with permanent staff replacing contract positions. The dynamic Pearl Matahiki – known to many as Auntie Pearl – became manager, as she remains today. The staff also expanded to include a community liaison officer and counsellor (there are now 2 counsellors) as well as administrative staff. Two new programmes commenced in 2002 thanks to the Ministry of Education’s special grants to support Maori and Pacific Island tertiary students. These were Turaka Hou (Maori orientation) and Ka Rikarika a Tane (a mentoring programme). Eventually funding for these was added to the university’s regular budget. The orientation programme, designed to help first-year students with their transition to the university with tours and advice and a chance to meet local Maori, incorporated a powhiri on local marae.

A welcome for Maori students at Kati Huirapa Marae, Karitane, as part of Maori orientation in February 2007. Image courtesy of the Maori Centre.

Te Huka Matauraka is now 25 years old. It will be holding joint anniversary celebrations next year with Te Tumu – the School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, which is marking the founding of the Department of Maori Studies in 1990. The centre certainly has great cause to celebrate, for it has played a big role in one of Otago’s greatest changes of recent decades: the massive growth of Maori participation. Do you have any stories to share of the Maori centre?

Staff outside the Maori Centre in 2014. Image courtesy of University of Otago Marketing and Communications.

Maori Club – the early years

Tags

1960s, 1970s, clubs, Maori

Otago University Maori Club and visitors from Canterbury at Otakou Marae in 1974. Standing in the front (left to right) are Roslyn Quick, Talei Pickering, Mere Meanata, Sally Plunket and Brenda Burton. At the back are Ellen Robertson (partially obscured), unidentified Christchurch visitor, Jackie Haimoana, Wilson Whare Isaac, Mori Ellison, Laura Van Peer (behind Mere), Virginia Callahan and Simon Wenley (behind Virginia). Photograph courtesy of Mere Montgomery.

Many student clubs and societies have come and gone over the years, and some have survived through many generations of students. One which has had quite an impact on the lives of its members, and also on the wider university community, is the Otago University Maori Club. The club began in 1960, with law student Te Pakaka Tawhai as the first president; medical student Mason Durie was secretary. Durie, who went on to a very significant career in Maori health and became Professor of Maori Research and Development at Massey University, comments that they founded the club “although there were relatively few Maori students, or perhaps because there were so few” (Maori Medical Practioners Association, Te Paruhi a nga Takuta, 2013, p.99). There were perhaps thirty Maori studying at Otago at the time, and even fewer in the early 1970s.

Not all Maori students participated, but for those who did the Maori Club became an important network. From the beginning, kapa haka was one of its strengths – medical student Bruce Gregory was one of the first haka leaders. Club members performed at various functions, including the capping show. But the social element was just as important to the club as its cultural activities. “We had good parties,” recalls Prof John Broughton, who arrived at Otago as a dental student in 1974. Mere Montgomery (nee Meanata), who was very active in the club in the mid-1970s, recalls that the social side – and especially the food – attracted many students. By that time the Maori Club was one of the largest on campus, with about 80 members. Only 15 or so of those were actually Maori; it welcomed any student who had an interest in learning about things Maori, from haka and waiata to the gathering of kai moana for hangi. Maori, Pakeha, Pasifika and even a turbaned international student were all part of the community. Friendships made through the Maori Club survived after university and some members met their life partners there, with a spate of weddings in the 1970s.

Freddy Rewa (left) and Allan Ngaparu and Murray Goodall (right) attend to a Maori Club hangi in 1974. Photograph courtesy of Mere Montgomery.

The Maori Club was also a place for developing links with Maori beyond the university. Members of the local Maori community provided considerable support and hospitality to students. For instance, the Otepoti branch of the Maori Women’s Welfare League put on regular dinners for students, while Edna Parata cared for the club’s performing gear. Strong links were built with Otakou Marae and later the urban marae, Araiteuru, which some club members helped to build. Local Maori leaders such as Magda Wallscott, Edna Wesley, the Ellisons and the Pickerings welcomed Maori students from the north and helped them retain their sense of Maoritanga while far from home. The Maori Club also built links with students beyond Otago through the national Maori University Students Association. Members travelled to – and occasionally hosted – national hui where they met future Maori leaders from all over the country, and also gained inspiration from Maori graduates of the past.

Beyond the social and the cultural, the Maori Club also had its political side – it provided a voice for Maori on campus. Promoting the Maori language was an important activity for the club, which became involved in the campaign for an undergraduate Maori course at Otago. Club members also played an important part in Te Ra Nui o te Reo Maori – Maori Language Day – from its beginnings in 1973. On the first day, in 1973, they arranged for two speakers from Maori activist group Nga Tamatoa and also Koro Dewes, Maori language lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, to visit Otago. The following year marked the beginning of an annual Maori Club hui at Otakou marae on Te Ra Nui o te Reo Maori. Some club members were dedicated political activists, like Mere Meanata, who had been involved in the Polynesian Panthers in Auckland and established a Dunedin branch when she came to Otago in 1973. The Panthers ran a homework centre for children from low income families (of all ethnic backgrounds), organised legal advice and visited prisoners. A few other Maori Club members joined her in the Panthers’ social justice activities.

Politics could be divisive at times. For example, not all club members supported the staff member who wanted all University of Otago staff and students to abandon work for a day to hold a hui about the Bastion Point protests – for some, getting on with their academic work was more of a priority. By the 1990s, the Maori Club had split into two groups, one with a focus on kapa haka and the other with more political goals (of course, some people belonged to both groups). Today, the stated aim of Te Roopu Maori is “the advancement of Maori through the halls of academia in every area of science, health, commerce, technology and social science.”

I am grateful to John Broughton and Mere Montgomery for sharing their memories of Maori Club in the 1970s, and to Mere for the wonderful photographs. Do you have any other memories to share of the Otago University Maori Club?

Beginnings of te reo Maori

Tags

1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, languages, Maori, teacher education, university extension

Tarewai Wesley, standing on the right, was probably the university’s first te reo Maori tutor. This photograph was taken by the Otago Daily Times in 1948 at Otakou Marae, during the celebrations marking the centenary of Bishop Selwyn’s first visit to Otakou. The official party also included (left to right): George Karetai, Margaret and Thomas Bragg (of Stewart Island) and Bishop William Fitchett. Image courtesy of the Hocken Collections, S14-184.

Kia ora koutou! In honour of Te Wiki o te Reo Maori – Maori language week – this post takes a look back at the beginnings of te reo Maori at the University of Otago. It is perhaps unsurprising, in view of the distribution of the Maori population, that Otago was the last New Zealand university to establish courses in Maori studies. It wasn’t until 1981 that a limited number of Otago students could take an introductory Stage I course in Maori language, taught by linguist Ray Harlow. After Godfrey Pohatu was appointed in 1986 a full programme in Maori studies gradually developed, proving very popular.

But there is an interesting and little known pre-history to the development of undergraduate Maori language courses at Otago. The first courses in te reo began more than twenty years earlier, through the Department of University Extension, which offered community programmes designed to reach out to the general adult population, particularly the many people who had not received any higher education. The Otago extension department’s annual report for 1957 noted: “For the first time a course was offered in the Maori language; this was well attended by members of the local Maori community.” Fifty-one people, two-thirds of them women, enrolled for the 12-class course. The tutor was Mr H. Wesley. This was almost certainly Harold Tarewai Wesley, a respected kaumatua of the Kai Tahu community at Otakou. He was renowned as a native speaker of Maori in a community where the language seemed to be dying.

After this successful beginning, the university extension department continued to offer evening courses in te reo Maori. Mr Rua Bristowe, a public servant whose iwi links were to Ngati Porou, took over as class tutor in 1958, and was himself succeeded by Mr Te P. Tawhai in 1960. As the 1961 prospectus made clear, the classes had a strong oral focus: “The aim of the course is to equip a student with a framework on which to build a speaking use of the language.” Enrolments in the late 1950s and early 1960s were not as impressive as in that first 1957 class, but varied between 10 and 30 people per year.

It appears that there were no Maori evening classes in 1963. Perhaps there was no teacher available that year, because in 1964 they resumed under a new tutor, Reverend J.N.A. Smith. Jack Smith was the minister of Kaikorai Presbyterian Church, but had previously served for over ten years in various North Island stations of the Presbyterian Maori Mission, where he presumably developed some fluency in te reo Maori. The extension department was responsible for coordinating adult education throughout Otago and Southland, and their report for 1964 also notes what may have been their first course in te reo Maori beyond Dunedin: 11 people enrolled in a language course at Balclutha, where the tutor was Mrs Kaye O’Connell.

As the Maori renaissance gathered momentum through the 1960s, demand for language classes was clearly increasing. In 1967, 45 people enrolled for the Dunedin class, 29 in Invercargill, 24 in Oamaru, and 11 in the small settlement of Otematata. Tutoring was taken over by some of the permanent lecturing staff of the Department of University Extension, Alexander Skinner and Pieter de Bres. De Bres was a Dutchman who had recently completed an anthropology thesis at the University of Auckland on Maori and religion, while Skinner was a linguist (he took leave one year to lecture on African languages at the University of California). Technology became increasingly important: “tape recordings will be used to improve spoken Maori,” noted the 1966 prospectus. Textbooks used in the late 1960s included Lessons in the Maori Language by W.H. Wills and Te Rangatahi 1 and 2.

As more people completed a first course in te reo, the department began offering level 2 and level 3 classes. In 1971 they introduced an “extension certificate,” which provided a formal qualification to those who passed an examination after three years of classes. The first six people successfully completed their certificates in 1973. The certificate course boosted enrolments, though, as ever, many people did not move past a first year of introductory language classes. The mid-1970s saw a return to a native speaker of te reo Maori as tutor in Dunedin. This was thanks to the Dunedin Teachers College, which was ahead of the university in offering Maori language courses to its students. Muru Walters of Te Rarawa became lecturer in Maori at the college in 1974, and the Department of University Extension employed him as a tutor for their Maori evening classes. Walters was a qualified teacher with expertise in Maori arts and crafts (he taught in the teachers college art department before taking on the Maori language role). He had also gained fame as a Maori All Black; he later became an Anglican priest and is now Bishop of Te Upoko o te Ika. Another 1970s tutor was Reverend Jim Irwin, Dean of Maori and Polynesian Studies at the Presbyterian Theological Hall, Knox College. English-born Irwin had worked for many years in the Maori Mission and was fluent in te reo Maori.

Enrolment forms for the occasional year have survived in the archives of the Department of University Extension to provide a little insight into the Maori evening class students. The earliest, for 1967, only give names, but those reveal that quite a few of those enrolling were Maori, particularly in the classes outside Dunedin (of course people of Maori descent did not necessarily have identifiably Maori names). The 1975 enrolment forms for Dunedin also include occupations. These varied from typist and mother to boilermaker and journalist. Quite a number worked in the civil service or “helping” professions – police officer, nurse aide, pharmacist, librarian, teacher, university lecturer. But the largest group by far were students, who accounted for 26 of the 48 enrolments. Some gave details of their studies – two were divinity students, one was a dental student and three were student teachers. But the rest were simply “students”, presumably at university. The failure of the university to provide undergraduate classes in te reo Maori had forced them to enrol in the extension department’s evening classes.

Do you have any memories to share of the Department of University Extension’s classes in te reo Maori? I’d love to hear more about them!

 

 

New blood in the 1980s

Tags

1980s, 1990s, computer science, dentistry, gender studies, Maori, medicine, psychology, women's studies

In the late 1980s, the powers that be decided it was time to inject a little new blood into the university – some new young scholars working in emerging fields. The general stability of the existing academic staff meant there were few opportunities to appoint new people and the increasing age of staff was a matter of concern. In 1988 the Academic Staffing Committee, which controlled all academic appointments, decided to appoint three “new blood” lecturers, inspired by an Oxbridge model. The posts would be funded from a special Development Fund rather than usual faculty budgets for a three year period. The committee invited the various faculties to propose areas of scholarship for the new blood posts. Priority was to be given to new areas of scholarship or areas seen to be of strategic importance, to the appointment of “women and any other groups under-represented on the academic staff” and to outstanding young scholars for whom there was no current post.

After a few weeks of campaigning and investigation, the three posts were awarded to the fields of artificial intelligence, Maori health and women’s studies. Others which came close to making the cut were bio-organic chemistry and family policy. Intriguingly, all of these fields had a strong interdisciplinary component. That was particularly the case for women’s studies, whose working party attracted support from staff in English, history, classics, Maori studies, German, theology, religious studies, law, education, drama, social and preventive medicine, surgery, psychology, physical education and consumer and applied science. As the proposal pointed out, Otago would soon be the only New Zealand university without a women’s studies programme, and risked losing students to other institutions, including a new extramural course from Massey.

Anna Smith, Otago’s first lecturer in women’s studies. From the University of Otago Newsletter, August 1989.

The three new lecturers were appointed in 1989. Anna Smith, a doctoral student in English at Canterbury and critical editor of Landfall, became Otago’s first lecturer in women’s studies. She established a Stage 2 paper in feminist theory and coordinated an interdisciplinary Stage 2 programme in women’s studies. The programme slowly built up and in 1994 it became possible to major in women’s studies for a BA. By then Smith had left (she now teaches English at Canterbury). Annabel Cooper, an Otago English PhD graduate who had been tutoring in women’s studies from the beginning, became a lecturer in women’s studies in 1993, together with American scholar Sarah Williams. The Otago programme may have been slow off the starting blocks, but it proved to have more staying power than others and is today the strongest in New Zealand. It gradually evolved from “women’s studies” into “gender studies”. After being part of various administrative structures, including the Department of English, the School of Liberal Arts and the Department of Anthropology, it now forms part of the Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work.

The other new blood lecturers remain at Otago to this day, and both are now professors. John Broughton, of Ngati Kahungunu and Kai Tahu, became lecturer in Maori health in 1989. He was an Otago dental graduate who had been working in private practice, as well as teaching part time at the dental and medical schools for some years. He was also a well-known playwright and chair of Dunedin’s Te Araiteuru Marae. Thanks to funding from the National Heart Foundation, Otago was also able to appoint Paparangi Reid as a half-time lecturer in Maori Health at the Wellington School of Medicine in the same year (she now teaches at Auckland). Not all 1990s medical students shared the University of Otago’s growing concern for Maori health issues, especially when a dentist rather than a doctor was doing the teaching, but Broughton became a respected educator in the field. In dentistry, he developed an innovative and popular programme of clinics run by students for Maori communities, both in the Dunedin school and far afield. This proved significant in developing the university’s links with various iwi, several of which now have formal memoranda of understanding with Otago; it was also a highly signficant experience for the students. Thanks to his links with mana whenua, Broughton has been frequently called on to consult and advise on things Maori for the university, particularly before the Office of Maori Development was established in 2007. He has been a professor since 2012 and his inaugural professorial lecture, “A Bro-fessor in the Whare,” can be viewed on iTunesU.

John Broughton (right) with Greg Seymour, Dean of Dentistry (left) and John Ward, University of Otago Chancellor, at Waitangi after signing a Memorandum of Agreement with Ngati Hine Health in 2011. Photograph courtesy of John Broughton.

The new blood post in artificial intelligence went to Anthony Robins, a Canterbury psychology graduate who had recently completed a doctorate in cognitive science at the University of Sussex, where he studied computational models of categorical structure. His appointment meant Otago could expand into the rapidly emerging field of cognitive science, offering this as a MSc programme from 1990. Robins’ appointment was a joint one between the Departments of Computer Science and Psychology for his first three years; after that he was based in computer science. This was a real interdisciplinary project and the cognitive science course also had papers from philosophy, anatomy, anthropology and information science. It was New Zealand’s first foray into this field. Robins, who was promoted to professor in 2013, continues to teach and research in the field of cognitive science, where his particular interest is in neural networks as a tool for modeling aspects of memory and forgetting. But he also teaches introductory computer programming and has developed a special interest in researching computer science education. He has been involved in the wonderful Robocup and other robotics programmes which introduce school pupils to the exciting world of robots, helping recruit the next generation of programmers. His inaugural professorial lecture – “Teaching, Learning and the Music of Memory” – is available on iTunesU.

Anthony Robins teaching in the robotics lab in 2012 with Otago student Louis Lepper (left) and Philip Anderson of Kings’ High School (right). They are training for the Robocup soccer event. Photograph courtesy of Anthony Robins.

The three new lectureships were clearly very successful in bringing “new blood” to Otago and their impact has been long-lasting. They allowed Otago to catch up in the emerging fields of Maori health and women’s studies, and to become the New Zealand pioneer of cognitive science. Not least, they brought some fine young scholars to the university, with two of them remaining for many years to become leading researchers and teachers who are also notable for their community engagement. All credit to the Academic Staffing Committee of 1988!

Compulsory languages

Tags

1870s, 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, chemistry, classics, French, German, Greek, languages, Latin, law, Maori, medicine, Russian

Proving an ability to understand a text like this, from a 1907 physics journal, was compulsory for science students until the mid-twentieth century. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Do you have a science degree? And can you read and understand a foreign language? We are accustomed these days to compulsory tests for competency in English, largely directed at students whose first language is not English. Some degrees also require or recommend learning te reo Maori; for instance, Otago PhD students in history have to complete a Maori paper. But for earlier generations of Otago students language tests meant proving they could read French or German.

The rationale behind this was that much academic work was published in German and French, so a good scholar needed to read these languages to keep up with the latest research. In 1899 Thomas Gilray, Otago’s English Professor and Chair of the Professorial Board, wrote of his regret that German was not being taught in more Otago schools: “A number of our ablest young men after passing through our University Colleges, now go to Europe to pursue their studies and it is a great disadvantage to them that they have no opportunity here of learning German. Every Student knows that it is impossible to get to the bottom of almost any subject without a knowledge of German.”

Latin was taught at Otago from its first year of classes, 1871, with modern languages – French, German and Italian – added to the syllabus in 1875. Italian only lasted a year, but French and German survived. The first compulsory language was Latin. A pass in a Latin paper was required for a BA until 1903, when students could chose between Latin and Greek. From 1918 this was replaced with a more general requirement to complete a paper in a language other than English as part of a BA. This lasted until 1971, though by then there were various exemptions (including for maths students). Latin remained compulsory as part of a law degree until 1953.

Science students did not have to complete a full language paper, but from 1919 they did have to pass a test proving they could understand a piece of scientific writing in French or German. This remained compulsory for a BSc until 1948; it then became compulsory for a MSc until 1959. Medical students who had taken a year out to complete the Bachelor of Medical Science research degree also had to pass a language test until 1962; it then became optional, depending on the field of research they had selected. By then the test could be in Russian instead of French or German.

For people who had studied languages at high school the language test was not too difficult, especially as they could use a dictionary. But for some science students without any flair for languages it was a big barrier; indeed, it could be the most difficult aspect of their degree. Ann Wylie already knew French when starting her BSc degree at Otago in the 1940s, but chemistry lecturer Stan Slater persuaded all his second year students to learn German. He had recently completed a doctorate at Oxford and knew that chemistry scholars who couldn’t read the German literature were severely handicapped. Ann felt considerable sympathy for the tutor who had to teach German to a bunch of reluctant science students! Alan Mark, who had no previous language experience, learned German to fulfill the requirements for his MSc in botany in the 1950s. When he went to Duke University in the USA to complete his PhD, he was dismayed to discover they required proof of competency to read two languages other than English! He had to add French to his repertoire. Language requirements were certainly common at universities beyond New Zealand; indeed, they were probably less stringent here than in many places.

Otago’s twenty-first century science students can be grateful that so much scholarly literature is now published in English, in part thanks to the strength of English on the internet. Could you read an article in your field in a second or third language? Do you have any memories to share of the dreaded language test?

Who was first?

Tags

1930s, 1940s, Cook Islands, Fiji, international students, Maori, Pacific

Like many organisations, the university is keen to celebrate its pioneers – the first people to complete a particular achievement. Identifying who those people are is sometimes straightforward, for example, the University of Otago’s first graduate was Alexander Williamson (1874) and its first woman graduate was Caroline Freeman (1885).

Other ‘firsts’ are not so easy to confirm, as the university’s early records are rather sparse where personal information is concerned. I’ve written previously about some of Otago’s early Maori students and graduates. Early records do not note the ethnicity of students and names are not always a reliable indicator, as some Maori students had English names, while some Pakeha students had Maori given names (with Huia quite a popular choice). A little prior knowledge or oral tradition is needed to help spot potential candidates!

I’ve been asked about early students from the Pacific, and some of the same problems arise. For instance, one of Otago’s most famous Pasifika graduates had a name with quite a Welsh sound to it – Thomas Davis. Davis, a Cook Islander, graduated from Otago in medicine in 1945 and had a career in public health and research physiology before serving as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from 1978 to 1987. Otago awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2005.

One of Otago’s most famous former students was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, pictured here with his wife Adi Lala in 1969 during his installation as Tui Nayau on the island of Nayau, Fiji. Image courtesy of the Alexander Turnbull Library, PAColl-0199-012.

The earliest Pasifika student I’ve found so far is Ratu Jione Dovi, who began at Otago in 1929 and graduated MBChB in 1935. As the honorific Ratu indicates, he came from a chiefly Fijian family. After graduating Dovi practised in New Zealand and served with the NZEF in the Solomon Islands before settling back in Fiji. Other Fijians of noble descent soon followed Dovi to Otago, among them Ratu Immanuel Vosailagi, who graduated in dentistry in 1944, and perhaps the most famous of all, Ratu Kamisese Mara, who commenced his medical studies at Otago around 1943 but continued his education (in history) at Oxford. Mara, awarded an honorary doctorate by Otago in 1973, served as Prime Minister of Fiji from 1970 to 1992 and then President until 2000. An early Indo-Fijian student was Mutyala Satyanand, who graduated in medicine in 1940, settling afterwards in New Zealand – his son Anand was Governor General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011.

Are you able to help in my search for early Pacific Island students? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Who were the first Otago students from Samoa and Tonga and Vanuatu and Niue and Tokelau? And what about some early Pasifika women?