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    British humanitarians and the founding of New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand. EMBARGOED to 14 November 2026.
    (Massey University, 2024) Wyatt, Philippa
    This thesis reconsiders the intentions of the British humanitarians who sought to implement a ‘new system’ of ‘humane colonisation’ inaugurated by the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. It addresses two principal questions. First, it attempts to understand how scholarly interpretations regarding humanitarians have changed over time and come increasingly to deny any protective intentions. It begins with Keith Sinclair who, although initially critical of humanitarians, came to greatly appreciate the importance and influence of humanitarian thinking and its Christian basis. It then follows the historiographical marginalization of humanitarianism during a period of intense historical revision in the 1970s and 1980s when humanitarianism was dismissed along with long–held ‘myths’ of racial harmony. ‘New Imperial History’, while reintegrating New Zealand with the empire, has likewise continued to present all humanitarians, particularly missionaries, as little more than active agents of imperialism. Secondly, this thesis seeks to provide a revision of that existing interpretation through a re–examination of the intentions of leading humanitarians in 1840. What that assessment reveals is that their goal was to create a more just and equal society, both at home and within the empire. This was understood to be necessary given the ‘crisis of civilization’ these men were then facing as evident in the growing poverty of the working poor within Britain and the increasing mistreatment and exploitation of indigenous peoples in the empire. It was the urgency created by that crisis that not only fueled a revival of faith but united these men as Christians, and led them to then seek to change their society and the empire as a whole through what was to be a radical programme of social and political reform based on ‘moral politics’. What they sought was to empower the poor and marginalized to better help themselves by assisting with their development to a position of ‘social equality’ and independence through educational and social reforms. With regard to Māori, what that meant was implementing a programme of targeted assimilation that could equip them with the education and skills they needed to compete more equally with Pākehā, while maintaining that which was important to their culture and identity, particularly their language. Securing the independence and greater protection of the vulnerable both at home and abroad was also understood to be dependent on securing their greater legal equality and civil rights, and what was a movement inspired by Christian faith and ‘love’ in turn became a civil rights movement that eventually sought to achieve in New Zealand what these men called ‘amalgamation’: the peaceful union of the two races on the basis of a shared faith and equal rights and laws. This was the great hope of the ‘new system’ of ‘humane colonization’ that came to be first attempted in New Zealand. It was also the hope of many Māori leaders, who likewise understood the Treaty to have created a union based on ‘one faith, one love, one law’.
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    Performing pūrākau : liberating bodies, healing wairua, and reclaiming ancestral wisdom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Pearse-Otene, Helen
    Studies by government agencies and advocacy groups report that Māori women and children are more vulnerable to experiencing family violence, sexual abuse, and incest than Pākehā. They acknowledge colonisation and historical trauma as contributing factors, and call for a systems-focused response to tackling sexual violence. This includes providing access to contextually responsive and culturally appropriate interventions. This study initially aimed to explore traditional Māori understandings of incest and healing from sexual trauma that are embedded in the pūrākau (ancestral story) of Hinetītama/Hinenui Te Pō, and her parents, Hineahuone and Tānemahuta. As it would apply a unique Māori theatre pedagogy called Theatre Marae, the project was then expanded to investigate the utility and potential of this innovative approach, which draws together Māori and non-Māori performance traditions, therapeutic models, Māori language, and customs in a process for creative inquiry. In pursuing these two activities, the resulting thesis comprises three publications. In the first article (chapter 2), I unpack the conceptual framework of Theatre Marae pedagogy as a suitable approach for kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori) arts-based research against the backdrop of growing scholarship in Indigenous research and psychologies. In the second article (chapter 3), I deepen this exploration into Theatre Marae and its core methods within an historical account of the theatre company most associated with the practice, Te Rākau. The third article (chapter 4) builds on the preceding chapters by returning to the initial focus of this study and describing how Theatre Marae was applied in a performance-based analysis of this ancient pūrākau as a narrative of survival and healing. The analysis revealed new themes that highlight the collectivist customs of traditional Māori society as protective factors against the proliferation of sexual violence and incest. When drawn together in this thesis, these articles and contextualising discussion illustrate how Māori ancestral knowledge can inform the development of more culturally responsive therapies for recovery from historic sexual trauma. Furthermore, in presenting Theatre Marae to the realm of kaupapa Māori research, this thesis contributes to an international agenda to decolonise research in ways that are emancipatory, healing, and transformative for Indigenous communities.
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    Impact of human colonisation history on New Zealand avian diversity : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Amiot, Christophe Michel Gérard
    Human activity has transformed earth's ecology and exerts new selection forces on entire species communities. This thesis examines the influence of evolutionary and human history on the composition of local biodiversity in New Zealand terrestrial habitats. The Auckland region of New Zealand provides an excellent model system because these areas have only recently been colonised by humans, and there is a gradient of habitats ranging from urban to protected native bush. The history of humans in New Zealand is used to inform the response of naïve biodiversity to anthropogenic transformation. First, a general concept of the effect of human societies on biodiversity responses to anthropogenic impacts is explained in chapter one. I focus on three major historical phases - hunter-gather, Agrarian and Industrial- to outline the contrasting influences of each society on native species extinction and extirpation legacies. I then examine the impact of two waves of colonization by humans in New Zealand on avifauna, to establish an understanding of the influence of different human societies on species communities. My results how that New Zealand’s extinction rates are the highest recorded, and are associated with the post-colonisation period by European society and a more advanced human niche construction. This caused more advanced cultural, ecological transformations at various spatial scales. In addition, for exotic bird species in New Zealand, I examined whether the extent of previous coexistence with humans was a potential determinant of establishment success. My findings suggest that previously co-existing with humans is a potential key factor driving the establishment success of exotic species, particularly in habitats transformed by humans. To verify the idea that species functional diversity responds in different ways to human civilisation, I characterise differences in species biological traits among a gradient of habitats with variable degrees of anthropogenic disturbance. I show that no clear assemblages of traits are currently found along extant New Zealand native avifauna. I argue that this can be explained by the different experiences that NZ native avifauna has had with humans in comparison to exotic species. To investigate the possibility of a time-lag response of birds to human habitat transformations, the response of an avifauna assemblage in a remnant forest in the urban habitat is investigated over a period of 26 years of human habitat changes. My results suggest that the community assemblage changed over that time, driven by the arrival of new exotic species. This resulted in a change of community composition to one dominated by exotic species. Finally, nestsite selection of exotic and native avifauna is examined across an anthropogenic gradient to understand the role of evolutionary history in shaping their behavioural response to habitat change. I found further support for the effect of species past-experience with humans. Indeed only native species more naive to anthropogenic habitats and its disturbance tend to alter their nest site strategy in relation to the degree of terrestrial predation. By using the history of a recently colonised location like New Zealand, this research has been able to show the potential importance of human society characteristics during colonisation and how previous levels of human coexistence of biodiversity has implications for current and future ecological consequences in an Anthropogenic world. This thesis highlights the importance of considering species’ past-experiences with humans to inform ecological and evolutionary research and conservation strategies.
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    If you sing me a lullaby I will sing you a song about war : exhibition report presented in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Maori Visual Art 2013
    (Massey University, 2016) Cocker, Catherine
    I grew up in a crack between cultures that broadened briefly with the acceptance of mixed marriages only to shrink back into a more elaborate and toxic packaging ready for the free market. No apologies, no paradoxes, just blatant contradictions, and perfect copies, a world of simulated realties and parasitic realty’s, just like England’s Dickensian1 past, we wallow in squalor, conflicted, for what exactly are we buying into when we are buying, and who do we become? This exhibition report explores the thinking behind my Masters exhibition “if you sing me a lullaby I will sing you a song about war.” It is specifically about the English colonisation of the Highlands and the Pacific and relates directly to my own family story. It highlights the disconnecting effects of colonisation on the psyche of the individual and the wider ethnic groups.
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    Haere whakamua, hoki whakamuri, going forward, thinking back : tribal and hapū perspectives of the past in 19th century Taranaki : a thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Keenan, Danny
    This thesis advances a range of historical processes and frameworks through which tribes and hapū constructed their knowledge of the past. The thesis, in so doing, constructs an intellectual landscape upon which tribes and hapū assembled and managed that knowledge of the past. It focuses specifically on the nature of tribal and hapū history in Taranaki, though aspects of this study may apply to tribes and hapū in other parts of New Zealand. The thesis suggests ways in which tribes and hapū in Taranaki organised that knowledge of the past, and the reasons why. The thesis first suggests a distinction between tribal narratives and tribal histories. Tribal narratives provided accounts of the past in largely unmediated form. From these, tribes constructed tribal histories assembled for specific purposes. Such constructions were achieved through certain customary frameworks and processes. Whakapapa and mana are advanced as the two central factors influencing the shape and focus of these histories, whakapapa as primary organising device with mana serving as primary organising principle. This is illustrated by an examination of how various tribes of Taranaki constructed such mana histories comprising whakapapa selections of celestial descent (mana wairua), mortal forebears (mana tūpuna) and occupation of the land (mana whenua). Such histories were important because they validated tribes in the past and present. The thesis examines select tribes in Taranaki establishing their mana whenua presence on the land over time. Major landmarks of Te Atiawa whānui in the north especially illustrate how the sense of mana whenua was constructed over and attached to an ancestral landscape. After 1841, changes in the perceptions of landscape are noted following large-scale immigration. Some implications arising from such changed perceptions as they influenced new law and public policy are detailed. Thereafter, the study focuses on how the tribes sought to maintain and assert their mana whenua in the new environment based on the authority of their tribal histories as source of tribal mana. These validated continuing independence of activity commensurate with longstanding tribal precedence and practices, a source of authority that underpinned tribal activity from 1841 to at least 1900 (when this study concludes). Such frameworks of past knowledge continued to override new imperatives introduced into the Māori intellectual domain after 1841. The Māori past has normally been examined in a race-relations context. This thesis proposes an alternative theoretical basis for the examination of tribal and hapū history in the last century. An afterword considers the wider implications of this study for Māori and New Zealand historiography.