UC research into Kiwiana important to retain traditional NZ culture

A University of Canterbury (UC) researcher believes Kiwiana is pivotal to New Zealanders’ pride and sense of belonging in changing times.

UC associate professor Katie Pickles is running a university course on Kiwi culture next year which will study Kiwiana as a way of understanding Kiwi culture and how New Zealanders like to portray themselves. She is building up a Kiwiana archive to preserve.

She said Kiwiana was closely associated with traditional Kiwi culture and what New Zealand is about.

``In times of rapid change, Kiwiana offers something warm and fuzzy for us Kiwis to turn to. The less relevant it is to daily life, the more it seems to be in our faces. The more diverse New Zealand gets, the more simply we want to define our Kiwiana,’’ associate professor Pickles said today.

``It is the popular culture of New Zealand: the products, images, people, sayings, ways, food and anything else that reflects the typical iconic Kiwi lifestyle.

``Kiwiana is uniquely New Zealand, but it’s often about combining local products and lifestyle with overseas influences. For example, in the late 1950s Maurice Yock invented jandals in his Te Papa garage. He adapted a Japanese sandal to create the jandal.

``Kiwiana is often about nostalgia from days gone by. The Kiwi bach is a simple hut in the bush or on the water’s edge, or a holiday home of the past. But new grand waterfront residences have seen prices soar as the humble Kiwi bach slowly disappears.

``Meat pies, rubgy, racing and beer are still going strong today but they have to share a spot with fine cuisine, ballroom dancing, opera and wine.’’

She said Kiwiana also included the number eight wire inventive mentality. The Kiwi do-it-yourself solution to problems serves national myth-making.

``There’s nostalgia for a simpler time when New Zealanders all wore the same clothes and shoes, like the Swandri, first made in 1937 by John McKendrick. The jacket has become associated with working on the land. The ‘Swanni’ was originally green, but also came in the red and black and blue and black checkered pattern.

``What we eat has become Kiwiana, like Weet-Bix and Sir Edmund Hillary endorsed the cereal. And Pavlova, named after a Russian ballerina who visited New Zealand in the 1920s. As with other Kiwiana, the Australians claim the massive meringue so we slap Kiwi-produced cream on the top and adorn it with kiwifruit to make it indisputably Kiwi.

``Then there is the buzzy bee. This was a popular post-World War II item. Baby boomers had these as children and in recent decades it’s made a comeback. Kiwiana has become souvenirs for the tourists. It’s how we sell ourselves. There is a strong element of fun, leisure and happiness. It’s not for controversial products and images.

``The buzzy bee has done so well in the 1990s for tourism. It’s about how tourists want to take a piece of New Zealand home with them and Kiwiana is a way of doing that,’’ she said.