Monuments of Meaning

Monuments of Meaning brings together a diverse interdisciplinary team of contributors to explore and analyze the ‘Statue Wars’ of contested monuments and place names in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

In the wake of renewed global attention to colonial history sparked by Black Lives Matter, statues and place names became focal points for national debate. The 2020 Hamilton protests, part of the local ‘statue wars,’ highlighted deep divisions over Captain John Hamilton: admired by some as a noble namesake, yet condemned by many Maori as a symbol of colonial violence and Crown expansion. Following protests and a request from Waikato-Tainui, the statue was removed, reigniting conversations about restoring the city’s original name, Kirikiriroa, and reconsidering street names associated with figures such as John Bryce and Gustavus von Tempsky. Yet Hamilton was only the latest chapter in a longer history of contested monuments and places. Across Aotearoa New Zealand, European explorers, settlers, and imperial figures were commemorated in statues, streets, lakes, schools, and institutions, often marginalising Maori heritage. This volume brings together contributors from Maori history, town planning, church history, feminist studies, environmental planning, human rights advocacy, the arts, imperial history, and military history to examine the ways communities reject, accommodate, reconfigure or celebrate the nation’s monuments.

This book will be of interests to students and researchers of colonial and postcolonial history, cultural studies, and New Zealand history.