Identity and Discourse: Te Pipiwharauroa and the South African War, 1899–1902

The Maori-language newspaper, Te Pipiwharauroa, vigorously supported the British side during the South African War (1899–1902). With a British policy that the conflict was to be a ‘white man's war’, Maori were officially omitted from serving as soldiers in the New Zealand contingents to South Africa. For Maori who sought to engage with the mainstream Pakeha (European) society in a meaningful way, the exclusion demonstrated that full citizenship had not yet been attained, but supporting the war allowed some degree of participation and acknowledgement. However, a number of other elements also contributed to the paper's pro-war stance. Two of the leading commentators were Reweti Kohere, who edited the paper on behalf of the Anglican Church, and Apirana Ngata, the leader of an activist group that sought to reform and advance Maori society. This essay examines Te Pipiwharauroa's reporting of the war, and explores how their schooling, tribal loyalties to church and state, notions of race, and their reformist agenda all influenced their interpretation of the war, an imperial event of international interest, to a local Maori audience.