Smashing Statues

In the lecture on postcolonialism, reference was made to the removal of the Cecil Rhodes statue from the University of Cape Town’s campus following passionate student protests against its presence in 2015.  It is not hard to see why.  Rhodes was a white and wealthy British imperialist in South Africa who suggested that Anglo-Saxons were ‘the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race’ while his drafting of policies such as the Native Lands Act are said to have paved the way towards policies of apartheid in South Africa during the mid to late twentieth century. Since Rhodes could be said to be the personification of colonialism many anti-imperialists, such as Adekeye Adebao, have argued over the course of the #rhodesmustfall debate that to retain the statue of Rhodes – a symbol of oppression for many marginalised groups – celebrates white superiority, alienates marginalised groups, and reflects and reinforces a strongly Eurocentric world view (Parkinson).

 

 

Rhodes' Fall, University of Cape Town,  2015.

Of course, these statues are by no means restricted to South Africa.  One only has to search around central Auckland to find a myriad of historic monuments celebrating colonialism: The Symonds Street Memorial to British and Maori Imperial troops who died during the New Zealand Wars (but no mention of those Maori who lost their lives in defence of what they considered to be their land), the historic wall of the Albert Barracks, and of course the intimidating statues in Albert Park of Governor George Grey (largely responsible, among other actions, for the forced confiscation of Maori land in the Waikato),  and Queen Victoria.

Yet even though these memorials celebrate events that attempted to destroy many Indigenous cultures, I am not convinced that these symbols should be removed. For me, the statues stand as opportunities to discuss postcolonialism. There is a well-rooted myth in New Zealand that the relationship between Maori and Pakeha is healthy and that colonialism has been overcome.  Likewise, knowledge of the history of the New Zealand Wars, continuing Maori land grievances, and the Treaty of Waitangi has been largely neglected from New Zealand education systems. This social amnesia suggests that there is a tendency for people to avoid contentious topics that may threaten the above myth of a healthy nation – perhaps even threatening the nation’s cohesion.

 

Statue of Queen Victoria, Albert Park

Yet when I walk through Albert Park each day on my way to University, buried in my personal thoughts, I am forced to confront these dedications to colonialism. These statues remind me daily of the violence and suffering that this land went through at the hand of colonisation and their very presence reminds me that the racism and grief caused by colonialism in New Zealand has not been overcome. I agree that these statues are celebrating people and events which, in retrospect, ought not to be celebrated and so reinforce aspects of colonial discourse in today’s society.  In this light more effort could be made to inform the public of the negative effects these events have had on the country - perhaps by adding to the memorials plaques that critique the history these statues have written or moving the statues towards a location, such as a museum, which prevents their regressive effects on race relations while also educating the country on its problematic past. I just feel that the action of removing all symbols of colonialism suggests that colonialism has been overcome and that that is the end of the discussion. Removing references to our colonial history would only serve to reinforce social amnesia - the ignorance towards our turbulent past and the ignorance towards issues in our turbulent present resulting from that past.  The passion instilled within the students of the University of Cape Town by the statue of Cecil Rhodes was righteous and proves that these statues serve as valuable opportunities to critique and undermine past and present atrocities, mythologies and Eurocentric worldviews.

 

Works Cited

Justin Parkinson. ’Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?’. 1 April 2015. Web. Accessed 13 May 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32131829.