BUSY DAYS FOR HISTORIANS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 1, 30 June 1939, Page 49

BUSY DAYS FOR HISTORIANS

In a recent talk from Station 2YA, ‘Mr.

J.

Thorn

M.P., explained, as Chairman of the

NVational Historical Committee, what the Government had done, and still intended to

do, to celebrate New Zealand's Centennial in print. Dr.

J. C.

Beaglehole

now carries the

story a little further, explaining, as an historian, what such an undertaking means.

"Happy is the country that has no history" is @ remark that has been passed on numerous occasions. Or, as Thomas Jefferson, that great American ‘Statesman, puts it, in the rather more imposing "Away that great statesmen have, "Blessed is that mation whose silent ‘course of happiness furnishes nothing for history to say." At this rate, New Zealand over the last hundred years has not been a happy country; for her historians have found plenty to say: Discovery, settlement, wars, constitutional controversy, political strife, social struggle-all the usual ingredients of a civilised history have been here, and there is little of it all that has not been touched on in some sort of way. There are historical puzzles enough; there are questions as to this man’s motives and that man’s originality; there are antecedents and consequences to be investigated, points of view to readjust; some de-bunking to be done perhaps; perhaps justice to. be rendered where so far it has been denied. History has been very busy: and history is still likely to

Nave a busy time of it; because history is never final, and each generation insists on re-studying and re-writing the past for itself. That "vast Mississippi of falsehood,"

Matthew Arnold called history; and sometimes one is tempted to believe that he was right. But he probably over-stated his case. The fact is that history is with us, and that the history of New Zealand is as varied and full of colour as that of most other countries of about the same official age. Of course, our history, as that of a race, goes back beyond 1840we have as our founders not only Wakefield and Hobson and the pioneers, from Auckland to Southland, but Alfred the’ Great and John Balk and Wat Tyler and Edward I. and Sir Thomas More; Waitangi is important for us, but so is Runnymede; our ancestors did not merely sail across the world a hundred years ago, they cut off a king’s head three hundred years ago; they fought the Conqueror and they fought for the Conqueror almost nine hundred years ago. But obviously, in 1940, we can’t discuss all that, It is interesting, but for Centennial

purposes, only indirectly interesting. When we praise (or blame) famous men we must restrict ourselves to the matter in hand, and so also when we remember those who were not famous, but merely did their jobs, like the grandparents and great-grandparents of most of us. Then what have we to say historically in 1940? Luckily we are not putting all our money into exhibitions or processions, admirable and desirable as such things may be; and the Government has’ put aside a considerable sum for the preparation, printing and publication of a series of volumes for which, it is quite certain, there is no parallel in the anniversary celebrations of any of the other Dominions. A new standard is being set, it is hoped, merely in the technical side of book production in New Zealand, and all that can be done is being done to make the contents of the publications thoroughly interesting as well as. authoritative. First of all, there is the series entitled "Making New Zealand," a sort of pictorial magazine record at a very low price’ of

the whole course of our history, from our geological beginnings in remote time to the present day, accompanied by text that tells a story worth telling for its own sake. There will be at least thirty numbers in this series, and though they are designed so that a sixth standard school-child can enjoy them, they will be enjoyed equally by anyone of any age. "Whalers and Sealers," " The Voyage Out," " Gold," "Winter Sports," such are a few specimen titles; and it may truly be said that the country has been ransacked for the pictures. Secondly, there comes the series of " Centennial Surveys," a dozen or fourteen short books, each discussing some aspect of our history in a succinct but comprehensive way. These, too, are to be illustrated; and whether the reader is interested in discovery, or the Maori, or government, sr farming, or women, or pioneering, or ourselves as we are at the present time, he will find the series thoroughly worth investigating.

Thirdly, comes the great twovolume Dictionary of New Zealand. Biography, on: which Dr. G. H. Scholefield has been engaged for many years, a work which is in ~itself -a celebration, of . something like 800,000 words, This is now being-set up in' type, and no one who sees the completed job will: begrudge the printers, as well as Dr. Scholefield, their meed of praise. Finally, and the crown. (a heavy crown) of all, there is to emerge a New Zealand Historical Atlas, into which a small band of research workers, together with the Lands and Survey Department, are putting a tremendous amount of skilled and devoted work. When this great volume emerges from the. Government Printing Office, New Zealanders will have a quite remarkable picture, of a sort never before attempted here, of the development of their country. Historically, therefore, it may be said in more senses than one, 1940 promises to be.an important year.