Native schools

In New Zealand, native schools were established to provide education for Māori. The first schools for Māori children were established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in the Bay of Islands after the arrival of the CMS in 1814. Bishop Pompallier arrived in 1838. Priests and brothers of the Marist order, established schools for the Māori throughout the country, including Hato Paora College (Feilding) and Hato Petera College (Auckland). St Joseph's Māori Girls' College (Taradale) was founded by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.

The Native Schools Act of 1867 provided from the government providing a school, teacher, books, and teaching materials to Māori communities who petitioned for a school. In 1880 the first inspector of native schools was appointed and issued a Native Schools Code that prescribed a curriculum, established qualifications for teachers, and standardised operation for the Māori schools.

Church and missionary schools

The CMS founded its first mission at Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands in 1814 and over the next decade established schools in the Bay of Islands. The education of Māori children and adults was advanced with the arrival of the Revd. Henry Williams and his wife Marianne in 1823.[1][2] In 1826 Henry's brother, the Revd. William, and his wife Jane joined the CMS mission and settled at Paihia in the Bay of Islands, where schools were established. Richard Taylor, was appointed as head of the CMS school at Te Waimate mission in 1839 and remained there until 1842.[3][4]

Schools for Māori children and adults were established in locations where the CMS established mission stations. For example, the Revd. William Williams and his family arrived at Tūranga, Poverty Bay on 20 January 1840.[5] The schools run by William and Jane Williams were well attended, the school opened with five classes for men, two classes for women and classes for boys. Classes covered practical knowledge as well as the teaching of the scriptures.[6]

Until the 1860s, the government subsidised church schools for Māori. Early missionary schools were often conducted in the Māori language, which was the predominant language throughout the early part of the 19th century. By the 1860s, three-quarters of the Māori population could read in Māori and two-thirds could write in Māori. The Education Ordinance of 1847 provided funding for mission schools and required them to conduct classes in English in order to receive subsidies.

The New Zealand Wars forced the closure of many of the mission schools.[7] However, Te Aute College and Hukarere Girls' College in Hawkes Bay, which were established by the CMS, were not impacted by the wars. Schools for Māori children that followed the Roman Catholic tradition, including Hato Paora College (Feilding); and St Joseph's Māori Girls' College (Taradale), were also not impacted by the wars.

Native schools

The Native Schools Act of 1867 was a major shift in policy. Rather than helping churches to rebuild mission schools after the wars, the government offered secular, state-controlled, primary schools to Māori communities who petitioned for them. In return for providing a suitable site, the government provided a school, teacher, books, and materials.[8] The act required that instruction be carried out in English where practicable,[9] and Māori were generally strongly supportive of their children learning English as they saw benefits in being able to work for Pākehā.[10] Maori children were physically punished for speaking Maori in schools and this policy contributed to the massive decline in the Te Reo language, this policy persisted for decades after the act was introduced in the mid 19th century.

James Henry Pope (1837–1913) was appointed the organising inspector of native schools in January 1880 and he issued a Native Schools Code later in 1880 that prescribed a curriculum, established qualifications for teachers, and standardised operation for the native schools. The primary mission was to assimilate Māori into European culture. Māori could attend board of education schools and non-Māori could attend native Schools, although the primary purpose of the Native Schools was providing European education for Māori. Throughout the 20th century the number of Native schools decreased and Māori increasingly attended board of education schools.

The native schools remained distinct from other New Zealand schools until 1969, when the last 108 native schools were transferred to the control of education boards.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fitzgerald, Caroline (2011). Te Wiremu: Henry Williams – Early Years in the North. Huia Publishers, New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86969-439-5.
  2. ↑ Fitzgerald, Caroline (2004). Marianne Williams: Letters from the Bay of Islands. Penguin Books, New Zealand. ISBN 0-14-301929-5.
  3. ↑ "The Church Missionary Gleaner, February 1844". Missionary Meeting at Waimate, New Zealand. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ "The Church Missionary Gleaner, March 1844". A Native Congregation at Waimate – Contrast between the Past and the Present. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ Williams, William. "The Church Missionary Gleaner, April 1841". Formation of a Church Mission at Turanga, or Poverty Bay, New Zealand. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 9 October 2015. (Subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ Fowler, Leo (1974). Te Mana o Turanga. Penrose Printing / N.Z. Historic Places Trust. p. 1 & 4.
  7. ↑ "Missionaries and the early colonial period", TeAra.govt.nz
  8. ↑ Tribunal Report on Ngai Tahu Schools and Hospitals
  9. ↑ "Native Schools Act 1867 (31 Victoriae 1867 No 41)". www.nzlii.org. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  10. ↑ Archives New Zealand
  11. ↑ "The native schools system, 1867 to 1969", TeAra.govt.nz

Further reading

  • Barrington, John. Separate but equal?: Māori schools and the Crown, 1867–1969 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2008) ISBN 9780864735867
  • Simon, Judith, ed. The Native Schools System 1867–1969: Ngā Kura Māori (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1998)
  • Ka'ai-Mahuta, Rachael. "The impact of colonisation on te reo Māori: A critical review of the State education system". Vol 4, No 1 (2011) Te Kaharoa. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  • Māori Education in New Zealand: A Historical Overview The Wananga Capital Establishment Report (Wananga Maori Education Funding claim) Wai 718 (22 Apr 1999) Chapter 2 of a Waitangi Tribunal Report
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