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This extract is from a family history and is the Recollections of My Mother
and Father by Miss Agnes Walker. It has been given to this unit by the
Walker family of Rangiora. In her writing Agnes Walker describes the arrival
of her parents in New Zealand. They saw no prospects for themselves in
Scotland. Her father, William Walker, came to New Zealand in 1862 to try and
get a home ready for his fiancee, Jessie Campbell. He tried making his
fortune on the goldfields at Cromwell but was unsuccessful and lonely and so
he sent for Jessie. She arrived in 1868 and they were married in Dunedin,
returning to the Cromwell area to farm and gold mine.
"After the gold was found hundreds of Chinese landed in New Zealand and made
for the goldfields and they would steal whatever they wanted. I suppose
there were many good men in the crowd but they were few and far between. Dad
had a dog called Jenny and she hated Chinese so Dad used to leave her to
guard his claim and he never had any of his tools stolen as long as Jenny
was on deck. One day Dad was going to work and he said to Mum: "I hear
there is a gang of Chinese on the way up so I will leave Jenny to guard
you." He slipped a collar on the dog and put the string on the bedroom
door. Just before lunch Mother heard a great chatter and noise outside and
went out to see what it was all about and here was a gang of
Chinese. In their broken English Mother made out that they wanted to
buy her fowls. She said she could not sell them as she needed the
eggs for the children ..... they talked among themselves and she made
out that if she did not sell them the fowls they would just take them,
so Mother stepped back and slipped Jenny's collar and she sprang
out like a tiger. Mother was a great one to laugh and I think she laughed
till the tears ran down her cheeks at the scene that followed. Imagine
the yelling and swearing as Jenny rounded them up, snipping here and
there and the Chinese running for their lives, some not taking time to
pick up their swags. "A good dog is a great friend."
Put yourself in the shoes of...
- Organise the class into pairs. One student is Mrs Walker, the other one
of the Chinese men. Each has to describe the scene from his or her point of
view.
- How were they feeling at the time?
- What were they thinking?
- Why did s/he behave as s/he did?
- Have students rewrite the Agnes Walker extract as:
- a 1870s newspaper interview and report
- a modern TV / radio interview
The newspaper report could include:
Mr and Mrs Walker's explanation as to why and how the dog was trained to
hate Chinese. Why it was important for the Walker family to have a dog like
Jenny. Why they thought the Chinese were going to steal the hens. Why Mrs
Walker was so amused by the Chinese predicament.
The newspaper interview should show the Walker Family as heroes.
The interview should convey a sense of pride at the Walkers' efforts to
preserve their family from the invading Yellow Hordes. There should be no
attempt to get the Chinese reaction to the events.
The TV/radio interview could include:
The modern interviewer's reaction to the actions of the Walker family if
these events happened today. There should be an attempt to interview Chinese
representatives about the events. Reference could be made to the Race relations
Act and to the Race and ethnic relations office.
- Have students do either on or both of the following:
- Rewrite the extract reversing the roles - put the Europeans in the
roles of the Chinese and vice versa.
- Suggest how the newspapers of the time would have reported on such an
incident.
This material has been produced by UNITEC Institute of Technology
under contract to the Ministry of Education.
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