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Representing Purity: National Branding, Nature, and Identity in New Zealand (1)

16 December 2007

Byline:	© Eveline Dürr (School of Social Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland)
Source:	Humanities Research Network

A paper given at Transformations '07: Composing the nation: ideas, peoples, histories, languages, cultures, economies, the Congress of Te Whāinga Aronui The Council for the Humanities (VUW, Wellington, 27-28 August 2007).

Introduction

This article is part of a broader project examining New Zealand's '100% Pure' tourist representation and its impact on national identity, international reputation and tourist perception (Dürr 2007; n.d.). In this paper, I focus on a particular aspect and discuss the ways '100% Pure New Zealand'; is understood by Pākehā (2) New Zealanders and accommodated in their identity constructions. In order to contextualise my findings in the wider frame of New Zealand's representations and identity formations, I first sketch the historical development of advertising colonial New Zealand and then draw attention to more recent branding campaigns which both build on and enhance earlier images of the country. In this vein, I discuss Tourism New Zealand strategies to develop a unique and distinct image of Destination New Zealand which is adjustable and corresponds to the diversity of its market. I argue that the success of the brand '100% Pure New Zealand' is related to the vagueness of the term which stimulates and allows for diverse associations and fantasies - and furthermore localises them by portraying 'purity' as an inherently New Zealand feature.

I then place Pākehā perceptions(3) of '100% Pure New Zealand' under scrutiny and explore how this slogan is understood and meaningfully translated by individuals. I argue that Pākehā interpretations of 'purity' reflect their understanding of what makes New Zealand distinct and unique - in a similar way as the '100% Pure' campaign suggests uniqueness and distinctiveness to the global audience. Notions of purity serve to express idiosyncratic features differentiating New Zealand from not only other tourist destinations but also other national imaginaries. Thus, purity is conceived of as an almost stereotypical national characteristic, one that strengthens the sense of uniqueness and provides a source of identity and national pride which is mediated and fostered by powerful representations. I illustrate my argument by showing that these perceptions are in line with New Zealand's self-representation and international reputation, like closeness to nature, being ecologically friendly, and living in a relatively egalitarian and tolerant society. But they are to some extent in conflict with both the colonial experience and contemporary social conditions. In conclusion, I link my findings to the entanglement of identity constructions and representations and New Zealand's need to position the country profitably in the global context.

Creating Brand New Zealand and Fostering National Identity

New Zealand has a long and well documented history of advertisement and tourist promotion, which dates back even before 1901, when the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts was set up as one of the first national Tourist Departments in the world. Early advertising strategies were mainly directed at the market in the English mother county and framed by the colonial context. Positive national images, alluding to the achievements of imperialism, were not only used to attract visitors but also potential residents and potent investors to the remote and marginal islands (Fairburn 1989:20; Taylor 1998:11). In this vein, not only New Zealand's natural scenery was advertised as attractive and distinct, but also the colonial society, which was shaped by its economic and frontier conditions in the nineteenth century. Given the relatively high wages in colonial New Zealand, the disparities between workers and small businessmen were not as big as in Great Britain or as in other parts of Europe (Willmott 1989:3). Life-style in the nineteenth century was yet not very differentiated but similar for the majority of the settlers, levelling the British class-system and creating a sense of equality. At the same time, New Zealand's pasture raised hope for economic prosperity and a better future, which was not likely to be found in Great Britain. Its natural environment was idealised and portrayed as fertile, abundant and promising a better life and ideal society (Fairburn 1989:20). This fostered the perception of a society without real poverty, but with equal opportunities, labelling New Zealand as a 'glorious country for a working man' (Consedine 1989:174). This promising and prosperous future was framed ideologically by 'mateship', a male comradeship implying a classless society, which was also popular across the Tasman (Sinclair 1986:11; Phillips 1987:26). However, this concept disguised discrepancies and forms of social exclusion in the Pākehā dominated society, in particular in terms of gender and cultural differences. Pākehā men earned about twice as much as women and in comparison to other countries, few women were part of the paid workforce in New Zealand before World War Two (Steven 1989:32)(4). The egalitarian myth was further fuelled by the social reforms of the 1890s (Consedine 1989:174). Māori however could hardly participate in economic progress and were subject to discrimination and deprivation. Regardless of the desperate situation of the indigenous peoples, the Treaty of Waitangi continued to be ignored. Nevertheless, progressive legislation, combined with the fact that New Zealand was the first country in the world granting women the right to vote in 1893, including Māori women (Ip 2003:233), contributed to its democratic and egalitarian reputation on an international stage and is perpetuated ever since.

Like all British dominions, New Zealand struggled to create distinct symbols of identification and international tourist appeal capable of competing with European cultural symbols like artwork or architecture (Sinclair 1986:188). Early icons consisted primarily of New Zealand's natural scenery and represented the country as a natural wonderland, paralleling an American-style emphasis on the natural environment. They included natural spas, in particular in the Rotorua area, which caught the attention of European visitors even after the complete destruction of the famous pink and white terraces in 1886. However, New Zealand still struggled with its identity construction as 'unique' and various symbols circulated to represent the country. By the late nineteenth century, the silver fern leaf was widely accepted and by 1905, the kiwi(5), as a bird unique to New Zealand, has become the dominant national symbol (Sinclair 1986:188, 190), even though other symbols like the flag, koru, tiki or the map of New Zealand continued to market the country and its products as well (Collier 2003:403). Beside nature, Māori culture was part of New Zealand's attraction and exotic appeal, even though the control and power over their cultural representation remains a contested issue (McClure 2004:217; McCarthy 2007). Though the tourism industry still benefits mainly Pākehā entrepreneurs, Māori owned enterprises play an increasing role in the tourist market (McClure 2004:276). Most successful recent examples comprise eco-tourism activities like the whale watching in Kaikora or cultural shows and the display of traditional village life in Rotorua, emphasising the past rather than the present.

In the 1980s, New Zealand revised its branding by integrating additional features including the enjoyment of an outdoor, sporting destination and the stress-free lifestyle of its inhabitants. New Zealand tourism advertisements specifically targeted adventure and action in order to attract a specific constituent group in the tourist market. The 'extreme' and 'exhilarating' added new attributes to the interaction with nature, promising intensive experiences in a spectacular natural scenery (Bell/Lyal 2002; McClure 2004:270). Even though these daring but commercialised activities take place in a safe and secure environment, they entail a colonial narrative by struggling against and in the end triumphing over nature by using both sophisticated technology and physical skills. New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance, which became world-famous when opposing atomic testing in French Polynesia, especially when the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was attacked and sunk in Auckland's harbour (King 1986) increased the country's profile in the global arena in the 1980s. This incident added to New Zealand's international perception and representation as 'green', 'clean', 'ecologically friendly', 'politically correct' and populated by staunch individuals, bravely standing up against the great powers (Bell 1996:51).

In the 1990s, New Zealand recognised the need for the creation of a stronger national image in order to position the country more profitably in the increasingly competitive global tourist market (Collier 2003:403). In the wake of the 'first light' of the new millennium celebrations, New Zealand should be seen not just as beautiful but also as distinct from home and from other destinations. Upcoming sporting events like the World Cup in Gold (1998), the Rugby World Cup (1999) and the Americans Cup (2000) lent further encouragement to a revision of 'brand New Zealand'. Political summits like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting hosted by New Zealand in 1999 provided additional opportunities to display the country to a global audience (McClure 2004:282). The anticipated high media presence was an incentive to develop new marketing strategies and to find innovative responses to the globalised tourist industry's demands.

In this ambit, the Tourism New Zealand Board decided to set up its first global campaign, which was designed by M&C Saatchi and launched in 1999. This timeframe would facilitate efforts to attract tourists from the Northern Hemisphere for the new millennium (McClure 2004:285). The revised national image needed to be in accord with the country's resources, meet consumer demands and be adaptable to target specific segments of the now diverse, global tourist market (Collier 2003:405). The '100% Pure New Zealand' global campaign combines all these requirements: it presents a powerful and distinct selling slogan and constitutes an attractive generic brand which can be adapted for particular markets. The notion of 'pure' is applicable to a wide range of characteristics and not only to the natural environment. Besides the association of undiluted, de-humanised and pristine nature, '100% Pure' is also used to advertise local features like food and wine, designer accommodation, arts and crafts, even Māori hospitality(6) and culture, thus portraying New Zealand's society as tolerant, inclusive and exotic. The label '100% Pure' can easily be modified to meet specific marketing demands, for instance '100% Pure Freedom', '100% Pure Relaxation', '100% Pure Bliss', '100% Pure Adventure'. It also allows for further adjustments to advertise distinct New Zealand activities or achievements, like '100% Creativity' referring to fashion shows from New Zealand designers (Collier 2003:415, 416; McClure 2004:286).

The global campaign '100% Pure' aimed at reaching an international audience accentuating internet based information and communication. Tourism New Zealand created a new website which provides detailed information for various constituencies ranging from tourists to media or broadcasting professionals (Collier 2003:427). These web-focussed strategies combine advertising, international media coverage, events, and trade training to market destination New Zealand and are in accord with Tourism New Zealand's aim to address 'the interactive and educated traveller', who is keen to explore(7). However, the '100% Pure New Zealand' slogan spread far beyond the tourist market and is now attached to a large number of other products or ideas. The Green Party politicised the '100% Pure' notion to oppose genetically engineered crops in New Zealand(8). The business world extended the motto, when it created the '100% New Zealand - Keeping it Kiwi' campaign to promote New Zealand-owned and -based companies as well as New Zealand products over foreign-owned businesses or imported goods. Thus, the notion of 'purity' is applied to a wide range of products, items, activities and ideologies but it always implies something typical of New Zealand. In this vein, 'purity' asserts authenticity and alludes to imitation and forgery elsewhere. It also suggests that an audit has taken place and that New Zealand and its products have been measured, tested, finally certified and therefore present reliable and quality assured items (Bernanke 2001:10). It further implies that the test result is at best and the country and its commodities offer the full potential and best possible quality, ignoring the fact that purity implies always 100% - otherwise it is impure.

A further set of representations, which displayed and mystified New Zealand to a global audience, was conducive to the success of Tourism New Zealand's strategies. The film industry contributed considerably to the international commodification of New Zealand's scenic natural environment and fostered its entanglement in the global economy. The first film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released in December 2001 and the subsequent media publicity, which built on earlier internationally successful movies like The Piano (1993), was overwhelming. This success in the realm of creative industries added to an increased and predominately positive international perception of New Zealand (Jutel 2004).

It is interesting to note that the perception of New Zealand's geographical location changed over time and acquired new meanings. While it was perceived as a hindrance to efforts to boost the tourist industry in the early stages of New Zealand's entry in this market, it has been turned into an attractive concept in the light of globalisation and the quest for distinctiveness and difference. Destination New Zealand guarantees a get-away as far as possible from every day routines in terms of both distance and distinctiveness. New Zealand's image as static and unchanged because of remoteness and insularity suggests that visitors can experience the world how it was before human interference changed its face forever. 'Untouched by the outside world', New Zealand's 'primal beauty' is preserved because of 'eighty million years of isolation in a time capsule'(9) and can be experienced in its original, timeless, 'pure' state by both the visitor and the local population. In this context, 'pure nature' means devoid of human presence and activities, which are seen as potentially harmful to nature. The 'edge of the world' and the periphery, protected by the sea, ensure security and distance from overcrowded, urbanised and polluted centres. These representations provide alternatives to expatiated notions of constantly shifting, hybrid and mixed formations, which constitute key identity markers in other parts of the world(10). The relatively expensive and arduous voyage also adds to a sense of exclusivity and particularity. In times of terrorist attacks and contagious diseases like SARS, the Bird Flu or HIV, New Zealand provides a safe, secure, and politically stable destination (McClure 2004:288). In this regard, geographical distance, insularity and remoteness, combined with the South Pacific Islands' appeal, were turned into social capital and configure as integral parts of New Zealand's attractive tourist profile.

I will now elucidate how '100% Pure New Zealand' is understood, translated and appropriated in the identity constructions of some Pākehā New Zealanders and how it is entangled with conceptions of the country. I explore the ways meaning is attached to concepts of 'purity' with regard to predominant themes of New Zealand's repetitive representation, notably its evocative insularity and remoteness, the particular relationship with the natural environment, and its supposedly egalitarian social relationships.

Pākehā Identity and Perceptions of New Zealand's Purity

New Zealand's representation as remote islands protected by the sea from polluting continents is often accentuated when its flora and fauna is advertised, but it is also conceived of as key in shaping unique national qualities. It is an important feature for Claire, a pensioner who has worked for many years for a transnational enterprise in Auckland. She still travels frequently and continues to visit her daughter in London on a fairly regular basis. She perceives New Zealand as 'pure', 'green' and 'safe' because of its geographical location and recent colonisation. She gives emphasis to the insular nature of New Zealand and is convinced that distance creates a sense of exclusive community, solidarity and collective identity. In her view, purity, insularity and identity are intertwined and constitute each other. She believes that New Zealand's purity is preserved because of insularity, remoteness and the 'wildness of land' which she conceives of as a community creating force bringing people together. In this vein, the periphery as opposed to 'the rest of the world' denotes safeness and unity, which is at the heart of her sense of 'home':

"It has always been a thrill to me when I have been overseas and I approach this huge green, green land, I just hope it will stay being green and being pure (...) and also the fact we are two islands, (...) and people who live in islands are particularly attached to their lands. It gathers people together because of the wildness of land. We are drawn together more. I feel like there is this closeness of people. We think about the rest of the world, we think 'oh we are way down here, we are down under, we are not in all of that' We feel like we are set apart. (...) Down here we are sort of safe together, because we are detached from the rest of the world."

Joanne's perception of New Zealands purity instead differs from Claires view in various regards. While she also refers to distance as a crucial element, she applies a different connotation to it, which is most likely related to her family history. Joanne traces her genealogy back to the nineteenth century, when her forefathers left Great Britain and moved to New Zealand. The early decades of settling in the foreign country and building a new existence still play an important role in her family's oral history and are recorded with pride. As for Joanne, the frontier and colonial narrative have remained integral parts of many Pākehā''s cultural heritage. 'Clearing the bush' and 'breaking in the land' were seen as key activities in both the process of nation-building and formation of the national character (Sinclair 1986:8). Nature was conquered, simultaneously romanticised and portrayed either as majestic, sublime and overwhelmingly beautiful or as mystical and dangerous. Even today, the settlement mythology finds expression in New Zealand's male icons, embodied and valorised in prominent national figures like Sir Edmund Hillary, who climbed Mount Everest, or Barry Crump, a 'kiwi bloke' who lived in the bush (Pickles 2002:9, 10). They extend, impart and nationalise what was formerly the imaginary of a colonial adventurer, intertwined with exploration, the outdoors, ownership and power over land. Thus, closeness to nature and a particular relationship with the natural environment or the outdoors is still perceived as an important national feature.

Joanne, who has never lived outside of Auckland and is proud of her urban lifestyle, naturalises New Zealand's identity and inscribes it in both its particular environment and early settlement history. She points to the significance of the conquest of nature as crucial to the formation of the nation's distinctive qualities. She argues that New Zealanders went through an environmental selection process and only the fittest survived - implying that New Zealand's national characteristics are genetic by origin and intrinsically tied to the country's colonisation. This alludes to a common rhetoric describing the first settlers as descendants from the 'best colonizing stock', daring and fit enough to survive the hardship of the longest journey in the world (Sinclair 1986:12). Joanne also points to the struggle with nature in the beginning of the colonisation process which finally ended in the victory of humans over nature - a further prominent topic in settler societies (Bell 1996:28, 36; Bell/Lyall 2004:173). When talking about national characteristics, uniqueness and New Zealand's purity, Joanne gives the following explanation:

"Yes, I think New Zealand is pure in so many ways. I just really care for our natural home. This New Zealand has got such a special and unique flora and fauna that is worth protecting and worth promoting over other species (...). You can take that back a step and say it's like New Zealand has been isolated for 18 million years and that's why we evolved so differently [from the rest of the world] and only the best survived. And then if you got back to the original settlers they had faced horrendous icy voyages out here and only the strongest and fittest survived those to actually become the founders of New Zealand. So I think we have actually got a genetic capacity because of that. New Zealand has been through that selection process."

It is interesting to note that Joanne parallels the natural environment's selection process with the one of the first settlers and takes this as evidence for the survival of the fittest, which makes the pioneers as well as the flora and fauna special. While she perpetuates the colonial narrative and presents nature as hostile and challenging but finally dominated in the settler context, she simultaneously re-conceptualises nature as endangered, fragile and in need of human's protection, care and management - in line with current discourses on ecological awareness. The attributes ascribed to the natural environment and the ways humans are supposed to interact with nature vary considerably and are juxtaposed in contrasting narratives (see also Dürr n.d.).

Joanne tends to evaluate native species over 'others' because of their uniqueness which she explains with New Zealand's isolation. The promotion of one species over another because it is native and perceived as 'pure' and therefore the classification of others as foreign and implicitly 'impure' or polluting suggests the existence of a naturally given, ecological order, determining the belonging of particular species to a defined territory or eco-niche (Olsen 1999:6). This entails a mere static concept of nature based on a natural, ecological law, excluding non-native, 'foreign' species as 'less valuable' because they are 'less natural'. In Joanne's view, it has become human's obligation to protect this distinctive flora and fauna from eradication, which she understands as ecological awareness or even human's responsibility. While the 'native' is classified as 'pure', the 'alien' is conceived of as 'impure' or dangerous because it might threaten the native and therefore the 'legitimate' flora and fauna.

In contrast to Claire and Joanne, Andrew does not even mention the natural environment when discussing New Zealand's purity. In his view, New Zealand's purity refers to the colonial morality and political practice as expressed in the Treaty of Waitangi. Andrew, who is a mature student in his late twenties, proudly contrasts New Zealand's 'clean' colonialism with 'dirty' Australian practices. He explicitly refers to the Treaty of Waitangi as proof of distinctive 'pure' historical and contemporary interethnic relationships:

"Australians miss out completely (....). The Aboriginal was there first, I mean, at least the Pākehā in New Zealand say 'the Māori guys were here first, but can we play too, can we share?' (...) It [the land] was fortified and the guys were farming here and the Pākehā turn up and saw 'oh my god there is all this land, maybe we can talk about this.' (...) The first Australians did not negotiate with nomads and they haven't moved from that position in 300 years, that's were we have a plus though. (...) I think that's part of being pure and clean, our relationships are based on some sort of respect that we find also in the Treaty of Waitangi which is always under discussion everywhere [laughs]. This might be related to being clean and having clean colonial relationship, I think so."

This idealised self-perception as anti-racist, liberal and egalitarian is a common strand in New Zealand's society, in particular in comparison with the Australian neighbour. This perception has several roots. It derives from divergent historical and contemporary policies and politics regarding the indigenous population in New Zealand and Australia, but also, as suggested by Chen (1993:15), from shortcomings in New Zealand's scholarly representation of history. A further source alluding to classlessness and equality is the popular, predominantly masculine interaction pattern, referred to as 'mateship' in colloquial terms. This form of male camaraderie and symbolic bonding contributes to the disguise of social and economic hierarchies and unequal power relationships (Phillips 1987:30).

In comparison with other indigenous peoples of the British Empire, the perception, evaluation and classification of Māori had always been favourable, reflecting the Zeitgeist of the nineteenth century. Māori were considered more sophisticated or 'advanced' than other indigenous groups, like for example indigenous Australians. Equations with the 'Vikings of the Sunrise' alluded to Māoris' migration route across the Pacific, reflected appreciation in Western eyes and mirrored the settler experience (Sinclair 1986:197). Albeit New Zealand colonisers were convinced that Māori would either assimilate and become europeanised or die out, Māori were still involved in the nation-building process. Through most of the twentieth century, if not before, Māori possessed the right to vote, were acknowledged in the official census and participated in sport and war (Sinclair 1986:204; Ip 2003:233). However, this does not necessarily mean that Pākehā's perception of the imagined nation included Māori as equal partners. Rather, Pākehā colonists patronised and socially marginalized Māori and ignored the Treaty of Waitangi or interpreted it to their advantage. But even though, in Australia, no comparable document, treaty or policy existed and to this day, indigenous groups in Australia are socially more disadvantaged and politically less empowered than Māori communities in New Zealand.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that while Australia is widely criticised for its 'White Australia' policy, New Zealand's political practice was equally shaped by racist principles and policies (Brawley 1993). Like in Australia, to 'guard the purity of race' was an important social and political issue in New Zealand in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century(11). The 'Yellow Peril' was perceived as threat to the country. Prejudice against 'Asians', in particular Chinese, was common and shaped the social climate. This found expression in a series of discriminatory laws from 1881 onwards and in the formation of 'The Anti-Chinese League' in 1895, later known as 'The Anti-Asiatic League'. Another example is the 'White New Zealand League', which was also fighting the perceived contamination of the nation (Sinclair 1986:92; Ip 2003:235). Discriminatory state legislation continued in the twentieth century, when in 1951 Chinese had to fulfil more criteria for citizenship than applicants from other countries (Ip/Pang 2005:179). Finally, New Zealand was the last settler country in the Pacific Rim to embrace non-discriminatory immigrations laws in 1986/1987. These historical facts, including the disregarding of the Treaty of Waitangi, undermine the wide spread perception of New Zealand Pākehā as having been less racist than other colonisers. Chen (1993:15) critically states that these policies are only briefly mentioned by New Zealand's earlier historians, whereas Australian historians have sharply criticised such policies in their country's past(12). While she admits that anti-Chinese legislations are addressed in greater detail in more recent history books, she still concludes that such disregard has resulted in an idealised, unrealistic self-image, claiming a non-racist national character, especially to contrast the Australia one.

In the light of recent migration patterns and New Zealand's rapidly changing cultural composition, attitudes towards 'Asians' tend to be ambivalent. While in the past racism was expressed overtly in a fear of the inferior race threatening the 'purity' of the dominant race, contemporary anxieties are more subtle and rather point to cultural differences and possible cultural contamination (Fleras/Spoonley 1999: 156). A survey conducted in 2004 found that 88 per cent of the respondents "agreed that it is a good thing for a society to be made up of people from different races, religions and cultures" (Ward/Lin 2005:163). However, more nuanced studies show a less optimistic result when asked specifically on views regarding recent Chinese immigration. While non-Māori tend to embrace integration (77 per cent), Māori opted rather for exclusion (56 per cent) than integration (41 per cent) (Ward/Lin 2005:164)(13). This tendency is confirmed by a recent survey, showing that Māori's attitude towards Asian immigrants has hardened in recent years (Gendall/ Spoonley/ Trlin 2007: 26, 30).

Immigration, integration and national identity always stir emotion, controversy and debate, in particular in rapidly changing societies. New Zealand is becoming increasingly pluralistic and its new cultural composition requires the re-formulation of identities and power balances. The controversy that emerged over the question whether New Zealand is an 'Asian country' reflects the symbolic struggle over social and economic positioning and identity in a still Pākehā dominated society.

Conclusion

This study suggests that Pākehā identity as a tentative national identity is reinforced by the '100% Pure New Zealand' global campaign. Designed as an economic project aimed at strengthening the country's position in the competitive tourist market by creating a unique and attractive profile, the '100% Pure campaign' refers to New Zealand's majestic landscape, endemic flora and fauna, exotic culture and natural 'purity', which constitute also significant sources of national pride and identity (Bell 1996:46-47). As stressed by Ward/Lin (2005), dominant social group members' identification tends to be stronger with their national than with their cultural or ethnic heritage. This might be also the case in New Zealand, where the nature of a specific Pākehā identity is not very pronounced (Ward/Lin 2005:162). Pākehā rather tend to refer to a 'New Zealand identity' than using hyphened appellations relating to a specific ethnic, cultural or national affiliation. This tendency reinforces hegemony by amalgamating Pākehā identity with national heritage or identity.

New Zealand's repetitive, predominately pictorial representation as natural reserve with empty landscapes, adventurous outdoor activities and as a country of equal opportunities, with an exotic but tolerant society and its construction as remote, static and 'pure' build on earlier representations, which shaped New Zealand's national and international reputation since its very first advertising campaigns. New Zealand's most recent branding as '100% Pure' is not only associated with nature, but rather allows for endless imaginaries because of its vagueness and sketchiness. Despite differences in meaning, purity is always applied to express a typical national feature, which distinguishes New Zealand from 'others' who are lacking those idiosyncratic characteristics. As such, notions of purity have expanded far beyond the tourist realm and have grown into a component of the country's national identity. In this vein, branding and economic profiling for international markets are entangled with national identity and Pākehā identity at home, composing and reinforcing each other by creating a sense of uniqueness and distinctiveness.

Endnotes
1) In order to stress the Pākehā perspective applied in this paper, I use New Zealand instead of Aotearoa/New Zealand. This is also in line with the majority of the advertising slogans of Tourism New Zealand, referring to New Zealand rather than to Aotearoa/New Zealand (see Tourism New Zealand's websites, for example <http://www.tourismnewzealand.com>, retrieved 10 August 2007).
2) The term Pākehā is vague and there is no agreed definition of its meaning. Belich (2001) states that Pākehā is a Māori word originating from colonial times which today commonly refers to New Zealanders of European descent. Under this definition, Pākehā might be associated with colour of (white) skin. According to Spoonley's (1993:57) definition it is related to power relations and refers to the members of the dominant group of New Zealand's society. This definition includes individuals who might not apply the term Pākehā to themselves. The term is also used to imply a definition of not being Māori (Webster 2001:15) or to refer to the colonisation process and the recognition of biculturalism (Spoonley 2005:102). I use the term Pākehā in this article for New Zealanders of European decent whose cultural heritage includes some reference to the settlers.
3) These perceptions are drawn from a qualitative study using focusing life story interviews. The participants in this research are third or even fourth generation New Zealanders of European descent whose cultural heritage includes some reference to the settlers. Thus, they represent a specific segment of the population group referred to as Pākehā in the wider society (see FN 1) and their perspective does reflect a particular tendency only. The interviews aimed at an in-depth understanding of their subjectivities, experiences and understandings of identity and New Zealandness. All participants, aged between 28 and 64 and living in Auckland, are given pseudonyms in this paper.
4) It should be noted however, as pointed out by Sinclair (1986: 215), that 245 women were running their own farms or sheep stations as early as 1874.
5) The kiwi (Apterygidae) is one of New Zealand's flightless birds and also the country's national icon.
6) See the 100% Pure Television commercial at http://www.newzealand.com/travel/about-nz/features/features_home.cfm, retrieved 5 April 2007.
7) See <http://www.newzealand.com/travel/trade/about-us/tourism-new-zealands-role.cfm>, retrieved 15 November 2006 and http://www.cfperformance.com/shadozoom/portfolio/en/tourism-new-zealand.cfm, retrieved 10 August 2007.
8) See <http://www.greens.org.nz/searchdocs/other6332.html>, retrieved 15 October 2006.
9) See http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/nature.html, retrieved 10 August 2007.
10) See for example the Mexican/US border region or the Caribbean (Asgharzadeh et al. 2007).
11) See New Zealand Herald 9 February 1906; see also the Weekly Graphic and New Zealand Mail, 12 August 1908, cited in Sinclair (1989:91, 92).
12) Chen's observation is based on O'Connor's critique of New Zealand's history books (see P.S. O'Connor, Keeping New Zealand White 1908-1920, in New Zealand Journal of History (2) 1968:41).
13) Māori resentments need to be contextualised in the wider frame of New Zealand's social history. 'Asian' immigrants are conceived of as a threat diluting their privileged status as tangata whenua or first people status and treaty rights. By replacing the bi-cultural model with a more pluralistic, multi-cultural version they fear to be submerged and equated with other minorities and even socially aggrieved (see for example Moharnam 1996:52; Ip 2003:249; Ward/Lin 2005:165).

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