The 7-8pm hour on Sunday evenings on RNZ National features a news bulletin followed by One In Five – “a programme exploring the issues and experience of disability”. This is followed at 7:35pm with Voices – “a weekly programme that highlights Asians, Africans, indigenous Americans and more, from Iraq to India to Indonesia and East Asia, spanning Morocco to Madagascar, Belize to Brazil. These are our local-born and immigrant ethnic minority communities, New Zealanders with stories to share”. At 7:45pm there is The Week in Parliament. In this recording:
19:04 - One in Five
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New Zealand Sign Language Week has just finished - So what do we know about our third official language ? About 20,000 people identify as using New Zealand Sign Language.Katy Gosset meets some of them - she also drops in on a taster class and talks to a sign language interpreter about the ethics and rewards of the job.
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Staff at Pegasus Health signing "ambulance"
If these staff members at Pegasus Health in Christchurch have a favourite New Zealand Sign Language sign, it might just be "ambulance". The group learnt signs relevant to their profession at a recent taster class run by Deaf Aotearoa during New Zealand Sign Language Week. As the annual event draws to a close, there have been numerous classes and activities throughout the country to promote New Zealand's third official language. The 2013 Census showed the numbers of sign language users had fallen by 16 percent but there are still more than 20,000 people who use it.
Deaf Aotearoa's community relations officer, Victoria Green, says while it’s still rare to happen upon someone who signs, interest in taster classes for community organisations has greatly increased. The free lessons can be tailored to individual industries: in this case Pegasus staff learnt how to ask a patient what was painful and whether they wanted a doctor, nurse or sign language interpreter.
After the class, staff described the experience as useful and the signs, intuitive. Ally Way said the course was interactive and the signs were easy to follow. "The symbols and the moves are things that you would expect them to be – it’s not something that is particularly out there," she said
Jo Butterfield said the fact that the signs were repeated several times helped her to remember them which was important when learning a new language. And she said, as a nursing facilitator dealing with practice nurses, she would have occasion to use what she’d learnt. "It will be good to go out and inform them that these courses are available and that they're easy to access and could be really useful."
The organisation's Population Health Specialist, Lynley Cook, says Pegasus has previously offered longer classes and deaf awareness workshops for about 100 general practitioners, practice nurses and pharmacists. And she says the feedback has been very positive. "They've been really pleased with what they've learnt. [ ] They have commented back to us that they feel more confident in being able to work with people who are deaf."
Anna Tyler signs "hospital", "nurse", "interpreter" and "help"
Victoria Green says the Deaf Awareness Workshops teach participants how to approach deaf clients or patients. They also offer practical tips such as not signing in front of a window as this darkens the face and makes it harder to pick up facial expressions which are also part of New Zealand Sign Language.
Giving Deaf People a Voice
For many in the deaf community, a visit to the doctor, dentist or a parent/teacher meeting involves having an interpreter come along too. Victoria Green says she always books an interpreter to ensure she has the best possible information. She says, just recently the Ministry of Education has provided funding to cover interpreters attending parent/teachers interviews for the deaf parents of hearing children.
And she has used it with her own daughter's teacher. "It’s been fantastic having an interpreter in the school environment with the teacher." She says many deaf parents don't have full awareness of school activities and she says they don't always understand the reports that come home. "So a parent/teacher interview helps them clarify that and understand what's going on in the school."
Jeremy Borland is a freelance interpreter who works for Isign, the nationwide booking service. His sister is profoundly deaf and he grew up using New Zealand Sign Language in the home. "Quite often we were lazy and we wouldn't sign at all which would frustrate [my sister] and so, every dinner time became a time where nobody was allowed to speak - it was voice-off time." This led him to study interpreting which he says is varied work involving anything from personal appointments to court and police jobs, but all are confidential, as required by the Interpreter's Code of Ethics.
Victoria Green and Jeremy Borland
He says one of the rewards of the job is offering a means of communication to the deaf community as in some cases, individuals have grown up without being able to express what they think and feel. "Being able to give them that access, I suppose, to be able to say what they want and make decisions for themselves [ ] on an equal footing. It’s a very satisfying part of the job." Jeremy attracted attention of his own after the Canterbury earthquakes. His signing at emergency briefings drew a Facebook following and some referred to him as "Hot Jeremy". He says, as a private person, he found this difficult to navigate and he felt it was also contrary to the goals of interpreting. "We're trying to empower a deaf person to have a voice and be heard. So it’s quite counter that when all this attention suddenly comes on me as the interpreter, when in my job I'm always try to promote a deaf person to have that power."
Transcript:
Katy Gosset: Hello, welcome to One in Five. I’m Katy Gosset.
And this week – saying it without sound.
We’re just coming to the end of New Zealand Sign Language Week – an annual event encouraging us all to learn a little bit more about our third official language. We drop in on a taster class and hear some first impressions.
Girl: I thought it was really, I thought it was really interactive, I thought it was really useful for us in our organisation and very easy to follow.
Woman: I thought the fact that there were short sections and they were repeated really helped me to get some of those ideas stuck in my head, which is what you need to do when learning a new language.
Woman: What I like about it was nice and easy to understand and it was very clear. And it was also related to the work that we do.
Katy Gosset: Later in the show, they are the conduits to communication for the deaf community. Sign language interpreters are not supposed to be invisible exactly, but when working the focus is on the client and his or her needs and appointments. An interpreter is the impartial intermediary. But today we talk to one interpreter about the ethics and boundaries of the job, as well as the rewards.
Man: I think the most satisfying thing is being able to give deaf people a voice, where sometimes they’ve grown up and they haven’t been able to say what they think or what they feel. And being able to give them that access, I suppose, to be able to say what they want and make decisions for themselves and that sort of thing on an equal footing.
Katy Gosset: But first up today we venture into a sign language class held for the staff of Pegasus Health – a primary care provider in Christchurch. Population health specialist Lynley Cook imparts the last audible information the class will hear for a while.
Lynley Cook: Well, welcome, everyone, to the Pegasus Health seminar series. We’ve got a special session today. And I’d very much like to warmly welcome Anna Tyler, who is a member of our deaf community in Christchurch. And she’s from Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand. And she’s our presenter for today. So welcome, all, and welcome, Anna. And I’ll pass over to you now.
Katy Gosset: And thereafter there is no sound. Having learnt sign language myself, I’ve been here before. I watch with interest as people sit silently to learn a new way of communicating using only their hands and facial expressions. We begin with ‘hello’, but with the aid of some pictures, these health professionals are soon trying out signs that are relevant to their work. Anna demonstrates the sign for ‘pain’ by shaking both hands up and down in front of her body. And before long everyone in the group has been pulled to the front of the class to act out a scenario with a would-be patient. They ask where the person feels pain, or using the correct grammar of New Zealand Sign Language. ‘Pain where?’ The signs form part of a taster class run by Deaf Aotearoa. And as Christchurch community relations officer Victoria Green explains, there’s been great interest in the courses during Sign Language Week and the signs taught can be tailored to individual industries. Her words are translated by an interpreter.
Victoria Green: It really does depend on the specific organisations. It might be an organisation, a school, a health provider. So we’ll provide tutors that go out to those organisations and they’ll provide up to a 45-minute taster class, and that’s free.
So they’ll teach basic everyday conversational signs. So ‘How are you? Hello, Thank you, Goodbye.’ And they’ll also identify what area they’re working in. And they might teach things. For example, social media signs or family signs, school-related signs, about colours and those sorts of things. They also try to provide a fun traffic light game for teaching colours. And that gets some engagement. They have to really watch for the yellow, red and green. And that’s a good way to learn those colours and the children love that game. For preschoolers we’ll teach colours, as well. Do you know the rainbow song? So we’ll point out the different colours and sign those coleus. And then we’ll give the teachers the opportunity, as well, to learn some of those signs from the tutor. Then they can show the children. They’ll see ‘Which one is red?’ or ‘Go and find something red in the classroom and bring it back and show me.’ Yeah, they love that.
Katy Gosset: So in a case like here, specifically they’re at a health care provider, there’ll be some medical related signs to help understand clients, presumably.
Victoria Green: Yes. And it’s not in-depth sign language, it’s more just basic things. So, for example ‘How are you? How can I help you?’ and signs like that. ‘Do you need a doctor?’ And teach signs like ‘appointment’ or ‘booking’. Those basic things that they’ll deal with people coming in. And also we’ll show them different body parts, as well. That’s quite useful for a doctor or a nurse. So pointing to the different parts of the body and showing them how to portray those visually.
(Hubbub)
Katy Gosset: Back in the class, the health care staff has learnt how to ask if someone wants a doctor or an interpreter.
Given that this is a group of hearing people, the session is still punctuated by murmurs and some laughter as staff try to work out what each health-related sign means.
Woman: It’s a CAT scan. Yeah, X-ray.
Katy Gosset: Anna gets the meaning across using role plays and evocative facial expressions that, Victoria Green explains, are an important part of New Zealand Sign Language.
Victoria Green: So deaf people are very visual, and facial expressions will tell the feelings or emotions of how people are feeling – if they’re angry or… Sometimes, also, depending on how the eyebrows are positioned, that will indicate whether you’re asking a question that requires a yes-no response or if it’s a ‘WH’ question. There’s also a lot of pointing and gesture involved, as well. But if you have a bit of a plain face then a deaf person will think ‘Ooh, how are you feeling and what sort of intonation are you actually expressing?’ So, yeah, I suppose that’s what I’m trying to say. It helps express that if you’re using your face, yeah.
Katy Gosset: Deaf Aotearoa also offers deaf awareness workshops and longer six-week classes. Victoria Green says these can offer valuable information about how to approach deaf clients.
Victoria Green: It’s important to remember not to stand with a window behind you. So that’s one thing. Because otherwise the person has a black face, like a silhouette. And also tapping on a shoulder or tapping on a table or stamping on the floor is a good way of getting someone’s attention who is deaf, as well. One of the most important things is always being face to face, making sure they can see your face. And also lip-reading is quite important. So it’s important to try to enunciate clearly. If you don’t understand then write on piece of paper or a whiteboard, something like that. And it’s important that hearing people try not to be nervous when a deaf person approaches. And often people are quite nervous, thinking ‘Oh, what do we do? They’re deaf’. And sometimes they’ll just walk away because they’re too worried. But deaf people are very used to hearing people sometimes finding it a bit difficult to communicate. And I remember being younger and meeting hearing people and trying to reassure people and say ‘Don’t worry, it’s OK, we can take time. Just write it on a piece of paper if you don’t understand.’
Katy Gosset: So we’ve mentioned some of the industries that you’re providing these workshops to. Are there particular industries or sectors that you can think of where the staff would really benefit from learning sign language?
Victoria Green: Yes. At the moment, for the first time this year, we’re providing taster classes to a marae. And that’s really good for them to be a bit more aware, because there aren’t any Māori sign language interpreters. There are a couple up in the north island, but we really do need to have that more established throughout the country. So we do have a new lesson plan that’s been developed specifically for tiana marae. And that’s like teaching waiaata, those sorts of things. So it’s a really good opportunity for them to learn sign language. And there have been also some videos that have been put up. So, for example, the New Zealand national anthem has been translated into sign language. And that’s both the English and Māori versions. So that’s something that’s also spreading the awareness of sign language. So that’s something that’s provided. So hopefully this will just be an incremental thing that there’ll be more sign language in Māori settings. And I also think the medical areas, it would be great to have more promotion in those areas. ‘Cause a lot of deaf people do have to go to different medical institutions. And it would be great if staff were able to sign and work with them as they’re coming in. At the moment, schools, it just seems to be really popular. They’re booking a lot of classes in. We noticed that last year. The children, the teachers, they just love learning New Zealand Sign Language.
Katy Gosset: So, essentially, we’ve got
20-odd thousand people in New Zealand who identify as using New Zealand Sign Language. But how often, anecdotally, do you run into people in an everyday situation who do use sign language?
Victoria Green: It is fairly rare, actually. It wouldn’t be all the time. Every now and then I’ll bump into someone who I know, and they’re normally the ones who will know sign language. Often I’ll just go to the supermarket, go shopping, and when I’m buying things at the end of my shop I’ll always say thank you. So they will learn that from me. So next time I bump into them they’ll hopefully remember that sign – thank you. And sometimes just out of the blue when I don’t say thank you, someone will say thank you back to me. And they’ve learnt sign language somehow, so that’s nice.
Katy Gosset: But she says often within the classes tutors notice that some students already know a few signs. And she says New Zealand Sign Language aims to build on that knowledge.
Victoria Green: So this year we’re doing sort of like a campaign, trying to get people’s favourite signs, getting them to video that and upload that to our website. So that’ll be on the website and Facebook. I’ve just seen recently, actually, there’s a lot more people putting up their favourite signs. And at the moment our website has seven signs in seven days, so that’s Monday through to Sunday. And there’s one sign that they can learn each day. When they’ve finished then they can enter a competition and win a prize at the end. So that’s trying to encourage them to have a look at our website, as well.
Katy Gosset: Do you have a favourite sign?
Victoria Green: Oh, there’s so many signs. I can’t narrow it down to a specific one. All signs are my favourite.
Katy Gosset: So in your experience, what do people enjoy the most about attending these classes?
Victoria Green: Learning new language. That seems to be the thing. And there is English, Māori and then now New Zealand Sign Language as an official language of New Zealand. And it is so beautiful with the lip patterns, the facial expressions and the hand movements. And it’s a great opportunity because if you’re driving in the car and you see a friend in another car on the other side of the road you can just sign straight through to them through the windows. And you can talk in sign language underwater to your friends if you want.
(Laughter)
Katy Gosset: Back at the taster class it’s pretty clear that the staff at Pegasus Health have enjoyed their session. And it looks like they’ve also found a favourite sign. There’s general mirth every time they make the sign for ambulance, which requires them to raise their arms up to their heads and clasp and unclasp their hands to indicate flashing lights. The staff say they’ve found the class useful and the signs intuitive.
Girl: I thought it was really good. I thought it was really interactive. I thought it was really useful for us in our organisation and very easy to follow. The symbols and the moves are what you would expect them to be. It’s not something that is particularly out there.
Katy Gosset: And are you a first-line member of the organisation? Will you be dealing with clients?
Girl: Not so much anymore, but I used to be. So it’s very good to have those skills behind you no matter where you are in the organisation, I think.
Katy Gosset: And do you think having an introduction, it might spark your interest? If you see deaf people out and about signing you might think…
Girl: Definitely. Can I help at all? Can I help communication between these two people? Yes, definitely.
Woman: I thought the fact that they were short sections and they were repeated really helped me to get some of those ideas stuck in my head, which is what to do when learning a new language.
Katy Gosset: And will you have occasion to use what you’ve learnt?
Woman: Yes, I’m the nursing facilitator for Pegasus Health so I go out and support practice nurses in general practice. So it would be good to go out and actually inform them that these courses are available and easy to access and could be really useful.
Katy Gosset: Alright. Did you find the signs easy? Intuitive?
Woman: They were intuitive. They would be a bit like I’d make them up if I didn’t know sign language. So they actually represented what I was looking at. And, yes, they were easy to remember because they were short.
Woman: What I like about it was it was nice and easy to understand and it was very clear. And it was also related to the work that we do as well, which was good.
Katy Gosset: So do you have first-hand interactions with members of the public in this way?
Woman: Not really, no. But as an outreach nurse I could come across anybody in the community that’s deaf so there’s always a probability. And it is our national language so I think we should all know a little bit. It will always be handy knowing a few words here and a few words there of almost any language, really.
Katy Gosset: The population health specialist for Pegasus – Lynley Cook – says the organisation has already run longer courses for clinic staff to help them work better with deaf patients.
Lynley Cook: Pegasus Health is really interested in communication for GPs, practice nurses and the pharmacists we work with. So we see this as really important. It’s about good communication. We’re delighted that they could come and give us this taster course, so some of the people that work here, the nurses in particular, could see how easy it might be for them to use these kinds of signs.
Katy Gosset: What did you think of it yourself?
Woman: I really enjoyed it. I was quite amazed how much you could learn by somebody just using the signs and then getting some idea of what they are. And it’s surprisingly easy and it makes me feel much more confident that I could learn more. I’m proud that it’s one of our national languages, as well. So I think it’s really great for any of us, and particularly people who work with people who are deaf, that we can communicate as well as we can. So we’ve had around 100 GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists attend these courses. The feedback that we’ve had from them has bene really positive. They’ve been really pleased with what they’ve learnt. I think they’ve commented back to us that they feel more confident in being able to work with people who are deaf. So we’re really keen to keep running those courses, because we’ve got many people out there in the workforce who could benefit from that. And that’s really going to benefit those in our community who are deaf.
Katy Gosset: Victoria Green says although the general understanding of sign language is improving all the time, she still uses an interpreter for most appointments to ensure she’s well informed.
Victoria Green: I’ll always book an interpreter for the reason of making sure I understand the full information. So I can get that from the interpreter. So, for example, if I go to a doctor’s appointment, some doctors are not easy to lip-read and some of them aren’t patient, as well. So I’ll always book an interpreter in that situation. So the information is passed on, it’s relayed to me. And then I can understand what’s going on. And it’s also the same for parent teacher interviews, as well. The Ministry of Education have provided funding for that. So parents who are deaf, who have hearing children, now have funding to cover their parent-teacher interviews. And that just started last year. I took up the opportunity a few times. Oh, it’s’ been fantastic having an interpreter in the school environment with a teacher. That’s with my daughter. And in the past with my older son I had no interpreters at all. There was no funding to cover that sort of thing. Schools would often cover the cost for interpreters, but some schools would say no. And I would think ‘Isn’t that a right of mine to have an interpreter there to communicate with me?’ But now we do have that funding. Its’ covered. Most deaf parents don’t really have full awareness of what’s going on in the school in terms of the teaching and that sort of thing. Sometimes I’ll receive a school report and they won’t understand it because of the level of English. And so a parent-teacher interview helps them clarify that and understand what’s going on.
Katy Gosset: So there must be quite a broad range of jobs that iSign organises bookings for.
Victoria Green: Yes, there is quite a lot of variety. There’s doctor’s appointments, hospital appointments, parent-teacher interviews, meetings, like staff meetings. It is very varied.
Katy Gosset: As a deaf person, I imagine you are in many ways going alongside someone else often in what can be quite personal situations. Is that something that you’ve had to adjust to over time or is it just a given that there will be somebody teaching you that at a private appointment?
Victoria Green: yeah, it’s just something I’ve accepted, really. I know that interpreters have as part of their code of ethics confidentiality. And so everything that they interpret is completely forgotten when they leave. So I’m confident that interpreters are always confidential. Yeah.
Katy Gosset: Over time, I imagine you might gain a friendship with individual interpreters or do you also maintain a certain level of distance or professionalism.
Victoria Green: Yaeh, there are boundaries. So we have boundaries. Interpreters have boundaries. But in social situations, like at deaf club and that sort of thing, we can be friends. But then the professional side of things has to be kept out of that. So we know what to say and what not to say. It’s sort of common sense, I suppose.
Katy Gosset: An interpreter offers what is essentially an impartial information flow between a deaf person and their doctor, lawyer or whoever they need to meet with. Indeed, today while conducting my interview, I am looking at and speaking directly to Victoria green, but I have a microphone on her interpreter to capture the translation. Today, though, for once, I’m also turning the spotlight on her interpreter Jeremy Borland. He’s a freelancer. One of many interpreters around the country who work for the booking agency isign. Jeremy Borland: is hearing, but has used sign language since he was a child.
Jeremy Borland: I’ve got a sister who is profoundly deaf so our family all used sign language when she was growing up. So that’s how I learnt sign language. That gave me the interest to go and study and become an interpreter. Mm.
Katy Gosset: And when you were at home did you always sign everything, or were there situations if your sister was out where you would speak English, or…?
Jeremy Borland: It was a bit of a mixture. Quite often we were lazy and we wouldn’t sign at all, which would frustrate her. And so every dinner time became a time where nobody was allowed to speak. Voice off time, we called it, and everyone signed at dinner time.
Katy Gosset: And your sister, did she succeed in likewise teaching her friends and creating a wider community around herself of sign language users?
Jeremy Borland: Yeah, she did. We were all brought up in Blenheim, so a fairly small town. There weren’t many other deaf people round. She was mainstreamed in a hearing school, but she did have a group of quite a few hearing people who all learnt sign and they were sort of her social group. Yeah, so quite effective at that.
Katy Gosset: He says his own social networks involve both the deaf and hearing communities.
Jeremy Borland: I definitely have friends in the deaf community and I socialise in the deaf community, but I also have a lot of hearing friends. It ends up being normally quite separate because most of my hearing friends don’t sign. So every now and then we’d have big parties where everyone comes together and it’s quite comical, actually, seeing everyone trying to communicate with each other. All over the place, it’s a bit of a circus. But, yeah, it’s nice to see. (Laughs)
Katy Gosset: And people do make the effort, though.
Jeremy Borland: They do. Yeah.
Katy Gosset: I imagine alcohol helps a little bit.
Jeremy Borland: Oh, it helps a lot. Yep, great social lubricant. (Laughs)
Katy Gosset: Right, OK. From your own personal perspective, you’re uniquely placed to see two distinct communities. Do you see ways they could be better united?
Jeremy Borland: Yaeh. I think that what New Zealand Sign Language does and just general deaf awareness and teaching of sign language does is probably the best start, I think. Because deaf people are not able to learn to hear and they’re not able to learn to communicate on an equal footing with hearing people in their language. But hearing people are able to learn sign language. So I think that if that was able to be increased and improved that would really bridge that gap a lot.
Katy Gosset: And touching upon some of the themes that we’ve heard here with Victoria, about how it works being an interpreter, those professional boundaries. Can you talk a bit about the range of jobs that you cover and how you handle that?
Jeremy Borland: I work in pretty much any situation you can think of. As Victoria mentioned, I think, hospitals, doctors, staff meetings, in tertiary education but also in courts, police interviews, conferences, all sorts of things. So there are some situations where it’s a bit more relaxed and the information is relatively dry and mundane so I think in situations like that it’s not as high-stakes, I suppose. But then there are other situations like court and police which are very high-stakes, and it is super sensitive and that sort of thing. But as interpreters, we do have a code of ethics that ensures that we’re confidential in all situations, just to make sure that people can trust the profession. So that even in a low-key situation people can still see that professionalism and know that that translates to a more high-key situation.
Katy Gosset: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Jeremy Borland: I think the most satisfying thing is being able to give deaf people a voice, where sometimes they’ve grown up and they haven’t been able to say what they think or what they feel and being able to give them that access, I suppose, to be able to say what they want and make decisions for themselves and that sort of thing on an equal footing. It’s a very satisfying part of the job.
Katy Gosset: One particular job that brought Jeremy Borland to the public eye was the spate of Canterbury earthquakes that began in September 2010. Interpreting for the deaf at emergency briefings, he gained his own Facebook following.
Jeremy Borland: Yes, that’s right. It sort of took on a life of its own a bit there.
Katy Gosset: As “Hot Jeremy”. How did you feel about all that? Was it a distraction for you or did you not mind?
Jeremy Borland: Yeah, on two levels. Firstly, personally, I am a fairly private person. So I did find it a little bit difficult to navigate that whole process. But also professionally, as an interpreter, we are very strong on we are an impartial person in an interaction, so we’re trying to empower a deaf person to be able to have a voice and be heard and that sort of thing. And so it’s quite counter that when all this attention suddenly comes on me as the interpreter when in my job I’m always trying to promote a deaf person to have that power. So that was quite a difficult thing to grapple with, as well.
Katy Gosset: Exactly. It’s not supposed to be about you.
Jeremy Borland: That’s right. Exactly.
Katy Gosset: Oh, well. I guess you got through it.
Jeremy Borland: That’s right. Yeah, yeah. And four years on it’s much better. I think I’ve got my privacy back a bit now. (Chuckles)
Katy Gosset: Well, that’s the show for today.
And whilst New Zealand Sign Language Week may be over, many more opportunities exist to learn our third official language through Deaf Aotearoa or at community classes around the country.
If you’d like a transcript of this programme you can search for ‘One in Five’ on our website – radionz.co.nz
We’ll look forward to joining you again at the same time next week for more on disability issues around New Zealand.
Topics: disability, language
Regions: Canterbury
Tags: NZSL, sign language, deaf, Deaf culture
Duration: 27'13"
19:31 – Voices
Unknown Anzacs - Cook Islanders at war
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Hundreds of Cook Islands soldiers enlisted for the First World War but their contribution has never been officially recognised by the New Zealand government they worked for. Daniela Maoate-Cox investigates.
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Howard Marsters with some of the research he has gathered on his relatives who fought in the First World War photo: RNZ, Daniela Maoate Cox
The worst part of the campaign was the heat and even though they come from a very warm climate in the Pacific, they couldn’t handle the heat. A lot of them came back with their lungs saturated in sand. – Howard Marsters
Hundreds of Cook Islands soldiers enlisted for the First World War but their contribution has never been officially recognised by the New Zealand government they worked for. Daniela Maoate-Cox investigates.
At the age of 15 Howard Marsters marched into an army recruitment office in Auckland eager to sign up for the Vietnam war and follow in the footsteps of his great uncles who served in the First World War.
Unfortunately for Howard the recruitment officer was a fellow Rarotongan who knew he was underage and told him to get out of his sight.
But four decades later Howard has clocked up 21 years in the territorials and is proudly delving into the history of his relatives who inspired him to join.
Just under 500 Cook Island men, most of them in their teens, enlisted for the First World War serving as labourers and ammunition bearers in France, Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and Palestine as part of the Maori contingent.
Left: Record of service for Beni Banabi collated by Howard Marsters - Supplied by Howard Marsters, Top right: Rarotongan soldiers standing next to artillery shells, about 1916-18 credit- Image from Turnbull Library Pictures, Bottom right: untitled
But their contribution has never been officially recognised by the New Zealand government they fought for and Howard has spent the past half decade finding out more about the men who went, to get them the recognition they deserve.
"A lot of them were around late teens, early twenties, and the thing is those who went overseas even though they went as youngsters they came back as grown men but some of them wanted to go back on a second tour and I believe they did. Even though they came from a warm climate in the pacific they couldn’t handle the heat and a lot of them came back with their lungs saturated in sand."
Grandpa Beni, he only served one year in Palestine and was shipped back to Auckland with tuberculosis and died of the sickness.
Private Beni Banaba was just 25 when he enlisted.
Howard’s other relative Grandpa Carl Marsters was a Warrant Officer Second Class and Company Sergeant and Howard said he was the longest serving Cook Islander, especially skilled with languages.
Left: Carl Marsters' service record and medals collated by Howard Marsters - supplied by Howard Marsters, Right: Parchment record of Carl Marsters' war service. supplied by Howard Marsters
“He did over two and a half years over there,” he said. “A lot of the soldiers couldn’t speak English properly and he could relate from Arabic, to Cook Island (Maori) and English. It’s probably why he became what he was because he had to interpret.”
The soldiers were given a heroes welcome and acknowledged by the governor general at the time when they returned from the war he said but have not been recognised in official commemorations since.
Left: Headstones of Cook Islands' soldiers at the Returned Services Association in Rarotonga photo: Helene Kay, Right: RSA WW1 Headstones in Rarotonga, photo: Helene Kay
“Every Anzac that I’ve marched I’ve never heard any recognition of these guys,” he said.
Maybe it’s about time that they were recognised as part of the contingent that actually served under the British flag.
Remembering those men who served is the driving force behind the Cook Islands Soldiers of World War One Committee who organised this year’s commemorative events in conjunction with the Cook Islands High Commission to New Zealand.
Poppies pinned on by the descendants of Cook Island soldiers, photo: RNZ, Daniela Maoate Cox
They’re a team of volunteers and one of them, Helene Kay, has been digging through archives, photos, and old military records to find out where they went and why.
She said the men signed up for the same reasons as everyone else and they deserve to be recognised.
A lot of people don’t know the Cook Islanders served in World War One. We looked at the 1916 census and did the math and 18% of Cook Island men went to the war.
“I think in terms of recognition at the Dawn Service they deserve a mention...It would be nice that they as part of the Maori Contingent and the New Zealand armed forces get recognised as a unit in themselves.”
Some of them ended up working with the Maori contingent digging tunnels in France such as Angene Angene who helped dig the Arras tunnel.
“He was in France and got very sick with pneumonia. After he recovered, he and two other Cook Islanders went with the contingent of Maori to help the New Zealand tunnelers at Arras. There are etchings on the walls from our guys that were there,” Helene said. “A lot of people did [that] graffitti I guess, tagging. It’s another research project in itself.”
Helene said the research has been a labour of love and the committee as only scratched the surface but eventually hope to publish a book with the information gathered.
Anyone with information or stories to share can email the Cook Islands World War One Committee at ciswwo100@gmail.com.
White crosses representing Cook Islands soldiers on the lawn at Parliament in Wellington.
Topics: Pacific, history
Regions:
Tags: Anzacs, Cook Islands, WW1, Pasifika
Duration: 10'12"
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