Chapter 21

It is the following week. Aroha had put me in touch with the Gender Studies academics at the University of Waikato, which is in Hamilton, about an hour and a quarter’s drive south of Aroha’s house. This was very helpful of her as I had been slow to make contact with colleagues in other parts of the country. The University of Auckland academics certainly weren’t in a hurry to invite me to present a seminar. Waikato may not be as dismissive of the University of South Auckland. On Monday, the organiser of the Waikato Gender Studies seminar series contacts me to say there has been a cancellation and asks whether I could give a seminar at short notice that Friday. I have a seminar prepared that I think would be suitable so I agree. Aroha has close ties with staff down there in Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao - The Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies, as she completed a doctorate with them only a couple of years previously. Therefore, Aroha offers to drive me down so she can catch up with her friends and mentors. We will drive back to Tuakau in the evening and Mikaere, who will come down to Tuakau on Friday, will take me home on the back of the Lambretta on Saturday. Well, I never was a big fan of limousines. At least, we can avoid traveling on State Highway 1.

Friday rolls around. I am not expected down in Hamilton until 2 pm but Aroha and I had agreed to set off at 11 o’clock or so, even though the trip is not that long. It is closer to 11.30 by the time we finally take off. Aroha suggests we divert a little and stop off at Ngāruawāhia which is most of the way to Hamilton. A lot of the drive is four lane highway but there are parts that are still under construction, so there are roadworks and some delays. Even so, we make good time and arrive in Ngāruawāhia soon after 12.30. We get some fish and chips, which we eat in a park called ‘The Point’ which is located where the Waipa RIver joins the Waikato River. It is peaceful sitting on a bench watching the rivers flow past. We see some outrigger canoes being paddled by high school students, and the calm is only disturbed when a power boat roars down river. We don’t linger too long and, on our way out of Ngāruawāhia, Aroha shows me the large complex forming Tūrangawaewae Marae, the home mārae of the Māori King. Aroha tells me how the king movement emerged to unite tribes resisting the confiscation of land by the English colonists.

We arrive in good time at the University of Waikato, which is located in the Eastern suburbs of Hamilton. It was established in 1964. Many of the academic blocks are from the 70s and have the look of utilitarian office blocks, but there are various newer buildings that have more architectural flair. It is a campus university with well planted grounds, which we catch sight of as we drive up to J-block, where there is visitor parking. After we find my host, Erica, Aroha leaves us but not before checking where the seminar will take place. It is due to start at 3.10 pm. Erica and I go for a take out coffee at a cafe nearby and have a short walk and a chat in a shady area of ferns before going to the seminar room. It is in fact a small lecture room with tiered seating. The audience is a bit sparse but, at the last moment, we are joined by Aroha and two of her contacts from the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies.

My topic is the traditional place of women in Sami society and the changes that have taken place with modernisation. The powerpoint slides I brought on a USB drive worked without a technical hitch and I start with a map showing the distribution of the Sami population across northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia. The Sami languages, which are closely related to Finnish, are in decline but my topic is the changing role of women. In traditional Sami society, women had prestige based on their vital roles in making clothing and passing on cultural knowledge. According to one analysis, the introduction of Christianity was the primary cause of the increasingly subservient position of women, though I regard the causes as more complex. In question time, it is clear the audience includes representatives from various disciplines including Gender studies, Sociology and Anthropology. Moreover, some were knowledgeable about the Sami, which was a pleasant surprise. They tell me they had a Sami graduate student a few years previously.

After the seminar, there are drinks and snacks, though Aroha went off with her people. One or two graduate students talk to me and I try to make some helpful comments about their projects. Then, there is discussion about the best restaurant for the planned early dinner with a few staff members. The final choice is a Middle Eastern place in Hamilton East, a suburb not far from the University. Aroha is going to pick me up later and I will text her when I am ready. The people are very hospitable and make me feel I have joined a community of New Zealand scholars. Aroha picks me up promptly when I text her and we head back up to Tuakau.

“Thank you so much for arranging this, Aroha, and bringing me down here. It was so good to meet up with new colleagues.”

“You are very welcome. It gave me a good opportunity to link up with the Waikato whanau. I feel comfortable down here.”

We continue mostly in companionable silence on the trip back. The drive is easy as there isn’t a lot of traffic. One thing Aroha tells me is that Hemi is setting off to spend the weekend with his father, Rāwiri, who lives in Māngere, another part of South Auckland. Aroha doesn’t seem to want to talk too much about Rāwiri, though she does say, “He was a bit too staunch for me,” which I don’t really understand. We skirt Ngāruawāhia this time and before long we are back in Tuakau.

Mikaere is in the house when we arrive and makes a point of asking me about the trip. It is strange seeing him back in this environment. He is being really sweet. When he retires to the garage, Aroha gives me a hug and thanks me for looking after him.

“Well he also looks after me,” I respond.

“I am sure he enjoys doing that,”

This time I sleep in Aroha’s office.