Manuhiritanga: In the manner of being a guest. Thinking about Maori in Australia

Given the close historical and geopolitical proximity between the colonial nation-states of Australia and New Zealand, research into various accounts of both nations’ state politics, government relationships and migratory patterns between the two can be easily located. However, there is a paucity of literature that focuses on Aotearoa Māori resettlement in Australia and, further, on Aotearoa Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples relationships and relationality in Australia. Current government statistical data indicates that one in six Māori reside in Australia (ABS 2022). Whilst this is a slight decline from previous data indicators of one in five Māori, the numbers are significant, and trends indicate that these numbers reflect an increase in a ‘rooted’ diaspora. That is, the number of Māori born in Australia is increasing in comparison to Māori migrating to Australian shores.

This thesis, which is by publication, focuses on the unique and large Indigenous diaspora of Aotearoa Māori in ‘so-called Australia’ (Day 2021; Carlson and Farrelly 2023; Lumby 2023). Most scholarship and historical literature record instances of Māori presence, movements, and journeys to and within Australia, but do not explicitly address the permanent re-settlement of Māori. The concepts of 'presence' and 'mobility' leave room for the possibility of returning or transitioning onward, as they don't inherently imply permanence or rootedness. Delving into this issue lies at the heart of this thesis, unraveling the intricacies and complexities of being rooted in another Indigenous peoples’ lands and examining its influence on Indigenous perceptions of diasporic Indigeneity and beyond.

This thesis builds upon my prior Honours and Masters research, delving into the exploration of Māori identity and culture within what is known as Australia. Comprising four publications, this x thesis initiates by investigating the intricate challenges associated with expressing and upholding Māori identity, culture, and connections while being geographically distanced from ancestral lands, especially across multiple generations of separation. I explore how the Māori (and Indigenous diasporas) can engage with their Indigenous relationality by embracing Manuhiritanga – ‘in the manner of beinga a guest' – and acknowledging the evolution of histories and narratives that shape current perceptions and tensions.

This thesis hopes to incite necessary conversations around the complexities of Indigenous identities and sovereignties where Indigenous peoples have resettled on other Indigenous lands by focusing on the Māori diaspora in Australia. Issues around Indigeneity, Indigenous identities and authenticity are further complicated by the colonial settler structures of the nation-state, especially when we consider the diasporic Indigenous realities for both diasporic Indigenous peoples and for those Indigenous peoples on whose lands resettlement takes place. This thesis will explore some of these issues, which include but are not limited to settler-national imaginations, historical narratives, historical and current policy, social and societal narratives, and misinformed colonial perceptions of Indigenous peoples and cultures. The consequences of ongoing colonial-settler misconceptions and racist policies impact both Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples, generating and nurturing a range of (entangled, often inaccurate and harmful) self and social perceptions of Indigenous identity and culture. This thesis identifies and highlights some of these complexities by examining sites and events of tension for diasporic Māori and Aboriginal peoples on Aboriginal lands.