Light shed on missionaries' role in NZ history

Hands up who liked New Zealand history at school?
Ah, just as I thought, not many of you.
It was boring.
The English came, The Treaty of Waitangi was signed, Hone Heke cut down the flagpole (several times) and there are still disputes over land titles to this day. That was about the limit of my knowledge.
So when I was asked to review Hawke's Bay author Keith Newman's Bible and Treaty I was rather reluctant. After all, what did I know? Not a lot.
Well, I'm proud to say that I know a lot more about New Zealand history now.
What's more, the journey Keith took me on from one end of the country to the other was interesting and captivating.
After writing Ratana Revisited - a history of the Ratana Church - Keith said it became clear to him that the part the early missionaries played in New Zealand history had not been told.
A Christian himself, Keith said he went into the project with no pre-conceived ideas. "Many people thought the missionaries came to prepare the Maori for the white land grabbers," Keith said.
"This is just not true. The missionaries gave up their nice settled lives in England, came to a wild country and struggled to survive.
"They played a huge part in the early colonisation of the country.
"They were peacekeepers who taught Maori to negotiate with their enemy rather than going to war against them.
"I enjoyed learning how Maori were inspired by Bible stories, spreading the word among the tribes quicker than the missionaries could."
Keith has included hundreds of extracts from the diaries of the likes of Samuel Marsden, who performed the first sermon on New Zealand soil, and William Colenso, who was the first white settler in Hawke's Bay.
He was shocked to discover some of these stories himself and feels they should be included in history lessons at schools today.
"We need a more balanced view of the early years and the part the church played in our history," he said.
Keith is an advocate for arts and music, and has written poems, prose and song lyrics.
He is also one of New Zealand's foremost technology journalists, writing for mainstream media about telecommunications, computing and the internet.
So taking on the huge task of researching the Bible and Treaty was nothing new to Keith.
The research took him two years and, when you read the book, you'll see why.
He cross references all his quotes and lists his sources.
Keith said he had made no judgment on the Treaty of Waitangi , but believed the missing part was the Church.
"Maori, pakeha and the church need to work together," he said.
He is passionate about his book and so he should be. I take my hat off to Keith.
He has taken a complicated and sometimes controversial subject and turned it into a story that is engaging and informative.
REVIEW
Bible and Treaty
by Keith Newman, Penguin, $50
Keith Newman gives readers a new and refreshing look at New Zealand history.
His focus is on the role missionaries played in New Zealand's colonisation, and the relationship between Maori and them.
He uses extracts from diaries of missionaries to weave a tale of bravery and betrayal.
The story takes place across both islands and tells of people such as William Williams who played a huge part in translating the Bible into the Maori language, Hone Heke, the Maori activist who cut down the flagpole in protest against the failed Treaty promises, Reverend Rota Waitoa, the first ordained Maori minister, and, of course, printer and Hawke's Bay missionary William Colenso.
Newman has included many photos from the Alexander Turnbull Library.
This book is a must for anyone interested in New Zealand history.