… it is not the rich and seemingly powerful that make history, but the majority of humans. –Hakim Adi, Professor of History at the University of Chichester
A look at maverick politician Jim Anderton
Come and hear biographer David Grant on Tuesday, 21 November speaking on the politician who during his time in politics headed four different parties and became Deputy Prime Minister in Helen Clark’s government. This is our final session for 2023.
- Tuesday – 21 November
- starting at 7.30pm
- at the Kapiti Uniting Church in Weka Road, Raumati Beach.
- Everyone welcome with a gold coin koha.
“Jim Anderton was a Labour rebel who founded a new political movement and became Deputy Prime Minister. From his position as the party’s most outspoken president Anderton became a backbencher in David Lange’s Labour Government in 1984 but was soon leading the fight against Finance Minister Roger Douglas’s top-down free-market revolution called Rogernomics.
This led to his decision to abandon the party and establish New Labour and later the Alliance which in the early to mid-1990s was more popular than Labour and National while he was the most preferred prime minister in the opinion polls.
I will traverse all of Jim Anderton’s political life but will concentrate specifically of his dramatic exit from his beloved Labour Party in 1989 and its consequences.”
David Grant is an award-winning historian based in Wellington. He has written 14 books and more than 70 essays and articles for a wide range of historical publications. He has appeared in film, television and radio documentary programmes. A founding executive member of PHANZA (Professional Historians’ Association of New Zealand) he is a life member and former chairperson of the Labour History Project and a trustee and secretary of the Community Media Trust, a collective of prominent film makers.
Thanks to our October speaker – Priscilla Williams
Henry Willliams, and William Williams’ descendant Priscilla
Priscilla spoke about the impact of missionary brothers Henry and William Williams and their wives Marianne and Jane. 2023 is the 200th anniversary of Henry and Marianne arriving in the Bay of Islands.
Their role in bringing Christianity to Northland and in mediating tribal disputes from the 1820s was crucial in ultimately helping establishing peaceful relations between settlers and local iwi.
Henry and his son Edward have an important place in our history as translators of James Busby’s English draft into the Ngapuhi dialect which became the Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Scores of descendants of the Williams missionaries joined Priscilla and her sister Shelia at the 200th anniversary reunion in Northland. A gathering of 45+ members thoroughly enjoyed Priscilla’s erudite and well-illustrated talk.
Speakers for 2024
Let us know if you have any recommendations for speakers for next year or if you would like to take a session yourself.
For starters, we hope we can get
- Chris Maclean talking on his history of Whitcombe and Tombs.
- Priscilla Williams on the Bolton St Cemetery.
Larry, Gordon and Roger will meet before Christmas to work on the 2024 programme.
Best wishes for the festive season,
from Roger Childs, Gordon Dickson and Larry Keim