THE. MAKERS OF HISTORY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 579, 4 February 1929, Page 9

THE. MAKERS OF HISTORY

©y - - THIS Dr. G. li. Scholefield. Con 1 troller of the Dominion Archives, in the course of a lecture at the ■ •'* • ni Science Congress in Auckland "Up to the present, history in New Zealand has been oppressed by a worship of recollections and reminiscences of ‘old identities/ and the prominence that is given to them by well-meaniug people and societies inv parts an entirely wrong perspective to the study of our history.** Now this, of course, is all very sail But supposing one were to take Dr Scholefield literally—supposing his tory really were vamped up on the reminiscences of ‘old identities’ . . The landing of Captain Cook, let us say, would be recorded something in this style: Captain James Cook (or perhaps Fred Cook or possibly Thomas Cook — authorities differe on this point * landed, or maybe didn’t land, in New Zealand (or was it Newfoundland ?» some time during the laset centtir* some time during the last century, before. Mr. Henry Higworple, senior, <>;' Cox’s Creek, who is 163 next birthday, claims to remember the occasion very distinctly.

"I have a vague idea (says Mr Higworple) that the incident occurred some time during the last two or three hundred years. Then, again, it might not have been. I first saw the gentleman sitting on the ground near the waterfront. He was addressing a banana skin at some length and wit li what I took to be nautical terms. “‘Good gracious!* I said, ‘have you slipped down?’ The gentleman then appeared to get rather excited. ‘No.’ he said, finally, ‘don’t tell anyone, but I’m Captain Cook and fve just dis covered the South Pole.* “I remember it distinctly,” said Mr. Higworple, “because he very kindly offered to help me on my way a bit if I stayed around much longer. . . .” Mr. Higworple also remembers the time when the water came half-way up Queen Street. On the other hand, Mr. Ephraim Mumble, the well-known recollecteut. who is approaching his 174th birth day and who also claims to re mem ber when the water came half-way up Queen Street, does not remember Captain Cook.

This would appear to raist some doubt as to whether there ever was a Captain Cook, or even whether New Zealand was ever discovered at all. This doubt is echoed by Mr. George Gummidge, aged IS2, who claims to remember a Captain Cook but thinks that his name was either Johnson or Williams.

This was either in 1814 or 1418, he forgets which. Mr. Gummidge, how ever, remembers the time when the water came half-way up Queen Street. No, on second thoughts, perhaps we had better not take Dr. Scholefield’s statement literally—these old identities’ reminiscences are far too exciting.