Abstract:
Understandings of disaster recovery are being enhanced by an increasingly diverse range of perspectives. In order to incorporate these perspectives, they must be adopted within a culturally-appropriate approach. This thesis presents a series of Māori perspectives on disaster recovery in the context of two significant disaster events in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. It charts the conceptual evolution of disaster recovery, in doing so recognising that fuller approaches to recovery may achieved through the use of a cultural context. A Māori world view serves as the cultural context into understanding how indigenous approaches, knowledge bases and motives contribute to making sense of the recovery process. Central to a Māori world view is the concept of mana, often taken to mean ‘authority’ or ‘prestige’. Its arguably ineffable nature does not lend itself to being closely studied. The thesis thus explores the viewpoint that disasters are considered a loss of mana; while recovery accordingly entails the restoration of mana. These themes are explored through case studies of the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake and the 1986 Whakatū Freezing Works closure. Both are markedly different disaster events that had profound impacts on Māori. On this basis, examining recovery on Māori terms affords a deeper appreciation of the concepts at hand. The thesis employs a mix of oral interviews and secondary data analysis to present a series of Māori perspectives on recovery. Findings uncover unique insights to recovery in respect of both case studies. A conceptual basis for understanding mana in disaster recovery is also established. It is hoped that by shedding light on the Maori world view in the context of disaster recovery, this thesis may develop understandings of the role that different and indeed unconventional world views have in disaster recovery at large.