The "lazy Maori" : pakeha representations of a Maori work ethic 1890-1940

Abstract

This thesis considers the extent to which stereotypical representations of Maori as lazy, improvident, and 'wanting-something-for-nothing' reflect the economic and ideological needs of Pakeha. It examines the means by which a stereotype cluster, which extends to more general notions of a poor work ethic, has worked to encourage the adoption of a specsc, individualist ideology with regard to work, and to marginalise Maori socially and economically. Using representations of the Maori work ethic which appear in published texts, the study focuses on the periods from 1890 to 1914 and 1915 to 1940, being overall, a period of transition from the colonial to the modern era distinguished by the geographic and social separation of the races. The midway point coincides with the First World War, an event identified as pivotal to the rise of national feeling, but which also determined the extent and nature of Maori loyalty to the Pakeha sense of nationhood. A Prologue and a Epilogue extend the evidence to cover the years before 1890 and after World War Two. The primary objective is to examine the origins, propagation, and implications of the stereotype cluster. Within the two principle time frames, a number of themes have been selected to indicate threads of continuity in the stereotypical representations and consider some of the ways these representations have been reformulated to suit changing circumstances or accommodate different needs.