Insanity in a Sea of Islands: Mobility and Mental Health in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific Sphere

This article builds upon the fragmentary historical evidence of mental illness and mental health within South Pacific societies to explore the nexus with migration and mobility. The focus is on the Pacific territories that were under Aotearoa New Zealand’s jurisdiction. The article explores concepts of mental health and mobility within Pacific societies that became entangled with European concepts to designate insanity. The paper then discusses how mental illnesses were exacerbated or induced through migration and travel across the Pacific. The last section explores the transfer of mentally ill patients from some Pacific islands to Aotearoa. This article is based upon the 2018 J. D. Stout Lecture at Victoria University of Wellington

State coercion and public sector unionism in post-coup Fiji

The trade union movement played a pivotal role in the formation of the Fiji Labour Party, and later represented a potential source of organized opposition to the military regime which overthrew the Labour Government in 1987. This paper explores why the Fiji administration perceived organized labour as a threat and discusses the measures the military regime took to retain control by weakening any political role for unions. Much of the regime's energy in this respect has been directed towards the Fiji Public Service Association. Its leaders argue that the fundamental issue of trade union rights can not be guaranteed without the protection of human rights and a democratic framework in Fiji, neither of which is assured in the recently promulgated constitution

State coercion and public sector unionism in post-coup Fiji

The trade union movement played a pivotal role in the formation of the Fiji Labour Party, and later represented a potential source of organized opposition to the military regime which overthrew the Labour Government in 1987. This paper explores why the Fiji administration perceived organized labour as a threat and discusses the measures the military regime took to retain control by weakening any political role for unions. Much of the regime's energy in this respect has been directed towards the Fiji Public Service Association. Its leaders argue that the fundamental issue of trade union rights can not be guaranteed without the protection of human rights and a democratic framework in Fiji, neither of which is assured in the recently promulgated constitution

Industrial Relations and Trade Unions in the South Pacific: Introduction

While recently on the island of Pohnpei in the South Pacific, I made enquires about labour relations there and was repeatedly infoxmed that there are none! The same answer might be given for several of the island states within the South Pacific but this would overlook that even if formal industrial relations Channels are weakly established, employment and labour relations issues are by no means absent from the Pacific Islands. This special issue developed from a perceived lack of analysis and infotmation about the background of and current trends in labour relations in the South Pacific. The countries represented here are selective. This reflects the selectivity of research in the Pacific, particularly in the field of industrial relations. The nations chosen are of special relevance to New Zealand and Australia and those with the most developed industrial relations structures (Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands) are included. Papua New Guinea and Fiji also have the biggest workforces in the region. In contrast, industrial Jielations in a small micro-state, Kiribati, are also analysed. It is regrettable that only one Polynesian country, Western Samoa, is discussed but this reflects the restricted role or absence (e.g., in Tonga) of fotrnal industrial relations in much of Polynesia. The papers also have not generally tackled their subjects from an employers' perspective, again an area of resean;h which has been virtually ignored in the South Pacific

Industrial Relations in Post-coup Fiji: a Taste of the 1990s

1990-1 brought a number of major disputes in Fiji's key industries which threatened to escalate. In 1991, the interim government revealed plans to drastically amend labour legislation that would introduce several limitations on the functioning of trade unions and their use of industrial action. The first round of severe restrictions was contained in the National Economy and Sugar Protection Decrees promulgated in May 1991. These were lifted but further decrees in November provided legislation to tighten control over unions and their leaders. This paper places these changes against the economic restructuring in Fiji during the nineties but also emphasises the poUtical basis to this

They sleep standing up : Gujaratis in New Zealand to 1945

This study concerns the Gujaratis in New Zealand, mainly up to 1945. The majority of Indians in New Zealand are Gujaratis, most of them members of either the Koli or Kanbi castes and originally from South Gujarat. Although comparatively few in numbers within the small population of New Zealand, Indians are the third largest ethnic group after Polynesian groups and Chinese. Gujaratis began to settle in New Zealand shortly after the turn of this century. From the thirties onwards they have established businesses and their own institutions, and have brought their families to New Zealand. A study of Gujaratis in New Zealand thus serves to highlight aspects of New Zealand society, in addition to contributing to the study of Indian settlements outside India. Two aspects of New Zealand society that are dealt with in detail in this study are mobile occupations (especially hawking and bottle-collecting) and the anti-Indian outbreaks, particularly at Pukekohe in the nineteen-twenties. While some studies have been made of Indians in New Zealand, this is the first attempt to examine Gujaratis as a separate cultural group and to analyse the background culture and factors in emigration. A variety of methods was used to locate, record and analyse the data. Many records are fragmented, lost or destroyed. Interviews with Gujaratis in New Zealand, England and Gujarat were utilised in conjunction with documentary evidence from government departments (notably Customs and the Immigration Division of the Labour Department); shipping lists; trades directories; Indian Association records; archival material from New Zealand, the India Office Library, the National Archives of India, Baroda and the Maharastra State Archives; official statistics; contemporary reports; newspapers, and the vast secondary literature. The subject is approached from both the individual case-history and wider economic, social and cultural perspectives. The first two chapters examine the origins of the Gujarati emigrants in New Zealand and the factors that induced them to leave Gujarat. Chapter III asks and attempts to answer the questions of why, when and how New Zealand was chosen as a destination. The last four chapters cover settlement in New Zealand. Chapters IV and V are divided at 1920, as that year marked the end of the relatively free immigration by Indians into New Zealand. Chapter V covers the development of the community from 1920 to ·1945, with particular emphasis on occupations. Chapter VI considers cultural aspects such as diet, religion, caste, marriage and divorce, inter-racial liasons, kinship, the joint family, and contacts with Gujarat, and the initial settlement of Gujarati women in New Zealand. The final chapter looks at the community as a whole, beginning with a discussion of the White New Zealand League at Pukekohe and the reception of Gujaratis and Indians by sections of New Zealand society. This is followed by a brief study of the development of Indian Associations. These were partly a response to antagonisms in New Zealand society, but also can be viewed as a positive approach to the problem of adapting Gujarati culture to the new environment. This study attempts to demonstrate the importance of cultural as well as economic factors in inducing and sustaining emigration. This it does by considering the persistence of Gujarati cultural traits, and the preoccupation with economic and social mobility, concurrent with an adaptation to and identification with New Zealand. The reception by the rest of New Zealand society, highlighted by the White New Zealand League at Pukekohe, indicates the ambivalent attitude towards Indians. Once again, economic factors are not the only consideration in racial tension. The Gujaratis' reaction has been to persevere, maintaining some separate institutions but consciously seeking a place in New Zealand society. Their success in this respect has been particularly due to the important business role they play