It was great to get another chance to hear Professor Belgrave talk about his book Becoming Aotearoa, and there was a big and lively crowd in Tautoru / TSB Space at Tūranga for a 10.30am session on an unusually warm late August day.
Michael Stevens began with a great whaikōrero to open the session and began by asking about the context of writing the book. Professor Belgrave said he felt compelled by what was happening since 2019, and to explore the integration of Aotearoa into the world, and how Māori were drawn into this, and our history as a series of relationships and agreements.
Michael then asked about the title of the book. Professor Belgrave said the original title of the book was ‘The Story of Us’ but this became dated, and he did not like ‘Becoming’ or ‘Aotearoa’. The story of our country was written in its creation, and the story since has been about working through the results of this as they have been refreshed and re-stated – the book is “about the things we have grappled with.” Professor Belgrave recalled a great point he made to his students about looking at the past and hindsight:
“The past is not as bad as we think it is, but the present is not as good as we think it is.”
On the question of what historians inspired him, Professor Belgrave said that though “as a young historian, you treat your elders with contempt”, he saw his teacher Keith Sinclair’s work as important in shaping his work.
Michael asked about the challenges of writing a national history - “one must be supremely confident”. Professor Belgrave talked about some of those challenges – having to cover areas you were ignorant about, and how well can you connect to these, for example not being from Christchurch but writing about Christchurch and the earthquakes. He also spoke that changes in history writing towards ‘history from below’ and moves away from big national histories weren’t bad – history writing has become more diverse and broad-ranging, but each history exists in its own time and the history of our nation-state is still important as we exist in one. We have existed in a series of agreements is important in understanding whether this can continue and protect us from the forces that have affected other societies or not.
Michael asked a question (a very nerdy one about Leopold von Ranke) around whether Professor Belgrave’s book reflects his life and career stage – not any greater theoretical insight, rather you’ve just read more, but that technology has opened up so much more access to primary sources. On whether it was easier to write about things one has personal experience of, while it was more challenging to deal with more contemporary events, it was fun to write about the world that he grew up in.
On the positioning of the context of Te Tiriti being between opposing Pākehā motivations, Professor Belgrave thought that they were really part of the same idea – a rights and relationships view of Aotearoa even if they were oppositional positions. Michael asked about the view of the two texts of Te Tiriti as opposed. Professor Belgrave challenged the idea that this was deliberate and emphasised the oral aspect of discussions and debates around Te Tiriti. It was about relationships, and rangatira had long-existing relationships with the Pākehā world.
Michael asked about the final chapter of the book, and for a comment on how histories have not focused on Māori successfully accommodated, but have focused on conflict. Professor Belgrave commented that we need to look at our society as a whole and look at what worked “we look more for incendiaries than accommodations.” Aotearoa’s race relations have been better than other settler colonies, but this was more about Māori capacity and interest in responding to the settler world, and how Māori and settlers had to live in the same space.
In response to an audience question about place names in te Reo Māori versus English, Professor Belgrave commented that this was informed by the Māori world and engagement between settlers and Māori - for example, lakes and rivers often having Māori names because settlers encountered these around people who had already named them, and through Land Court processes.
This was a great session to attend and an opportunity to hear more about Aotearoa’s history and an insight into how a book like this comes to be.
More about Michael Belgrave
Read Troy's earlier report on an author talk by Michael Belgrave
Find books by Michael Belgrave at the library
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