THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1939 NEW ZEALAND'S HISTORY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23263, 4 February 1939, Page 14

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1939 NEW ZEALAND'S HISTORY

If a certain cynical saying is to be taken as true, New Zealand is in danger of losing the happiness enjoyed by a country having no history. Not only does the march of time move swiftly to the end of our first century of British rule, but appreciation of this fact is producing a crop of reminiscent writings meant to put our past on record. Soon, it seems, there will be available a mass -of historical material, published with more or less care, for general instruction, entertainment and inspiration. Already, as this or that anniversary of public interest is reached, it is naturally evoking a revival of old story, this being met with a widening welcome, in view of the approaching centennial celebrations. A few days ago there was recall of several important events: the founding of Wellington, signalised by the coming of the first of the immigrant ships to enter Nicholson, on January 22, 1840 ; the crucial steps taken by Captain Hobson in the north, his arrival in the Bay of . Islands on January 29 of that year, his landing the next day to open and read his commissions and to make necessary proclamations, acting for the first time |in the official capacity he then j assumed under full authority. These i January dates have been reviewed iby many people with a deepened | appreciation of their significance j for New Zealand and the British Empire. , Early February brings ! other such dates to mind. To-morrow j and the following day will revive I memories of the Treaty of Waitangi, | for on February 5, in pursuance of his instructions, Captain Hobson met a, number of representative chiefs 'in negotiation of the cession of territory under their sway, and on February 6 they attested their acceptance of the new order by signing; the treaty. Succeeding days and months were to see the extension of this achievement, until practically the whole of New Zealand was expressly brought within the agreement. It is impossible, especially on the eve of the Centennial, to con-template this nest of historic dates without a wish for accurate knowledge of what was done and what it all meant. History, in this connection, acquires an interest highly intense and vital. To satisfy the wish for knowledge and to meet the growing interest with wholesome food for thought have become, more than ever, a duty. The Centennial will fail in a major part of its purpose if those venturing to describe what is commemorated play fast and loose with facts. Happily, those especially charged with the duty—the members of the various bodies set up to conduct expert research —have shown a laudable enthusiasm for their essential work. They have faced the necessity to collect authoritative information and to make known the results of their individual and collective study. This activity is still proceeding, but enough has I been accomplished to justify a confidence that moot points are being finally settled, particularly those having reference to the early days of the century. There has long been a ■-need for review of opinions currently held by many. Serious and capable students of the historical literature of this country have been compelled to note the entry a.nd perpetuation of error. Too often a, tentative statement or even a haphazard guess, appearing in a seemingly reliable handbook, has been uncritically passed on as indubitably true. This has done little harm, perhaps, with readers capable of sifting the wheat from the chaff, but when those presuming to instruct the public, or carelessly given opportunity to do so, have been at no pains to make sure of their alleged facts, the injury is really lamentable. Instances of unpardonable abuse of responsibility are, even in these days of quickened historical interest, painfully frequent. Not long ago, in public answer to the question as to who was the first European to sail upon ithe Waitemata, the trusted dealer with doubts said airily "That's easy; why, Abel Tasman." As a matter of fact, Tasman's skirting of part of New Zealand's coast in 1612-43 was limited to the west. Recounting, imaginatively, Captain Hobson's doings at the Bay. of Islands in January of 1840, another speaker, with a large audience, referred to the presence of Mrs. Hobson also on H.M.S. Herald then. Mrs. Hobson did not come until the middle of April, and in that interval happened her husband's paralytic seizure and his memorably pathetic anxiety lest exaggerated news of his illness should reach her in Sydney—an experience fully chronicled. Again, a similarly public recital of the sack of Kororareka included among its numerous blunders a declaration that all the buildings were burned and a clear implication that Hone Heke was responsible for the ruthless destruction ; "that was the end of Russell for some time." Abundant contemporary evidence proves, on the contrary, that a considerable part of the township was saved—on the intervention of Heke, who had taken no part in the attack upon the place, contenting himself with destruction of the flagstaff on a hill above. To the plea of the relative unimportance of these and other such errors a sufficient reply is at hand: they amount, in the aggregate, to an accumulation of nonsense —excusable enough among ordinary folk bat to be deplored in those affecting to enlighten the general public. The actual facts are widely available to all with a will to know the truth and to help others to become acquainted with it. Deeply regrettable is it that, at a time of quickened interest in New Zealand : s history, the task of useful ministry to it isi being 'at all hampered*