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Date: 14 February 2000 - 14 Feb 2000

From: Race Relations Conciliators Oral History Project

By: Laidlaw, Christopher Robert, 1943-

Reference: OHInt-0751-03

Description: New Zealand Race Relations Conciliator from 1989 to 1992. Born in Dunedin, 1943. Discusses attending school in Dunedin at Macandrew Intermediate then Kings High School. Talks about attending Otago University between 1962 and 1967 - mentions studying towards his Masters in Geography. Talks about being offered the Rhodes Scholarship and his time studying at Oxford between 1968 and 1970. Mentions his rugby career with the All Blacks. Talks about beginning work for the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and being posted to Suva and then Paris. Recalls working for the International Energy Agency from 1978 to 1979 before working at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London until 1984 - mentions Sridath Ramphal. Discusses returning to New Zealand to work in the Prime Minister's Department before accepting a position as the New Zealand High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania. Discusses appointment as Race Relations Conciliator - mentions the legislative framework, the complaints proccess and the 'working style' of the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator. Describes the bicultural structure of the Office and their part in the 1990 Sesquicentennial celebrations. Recalls reactions to his appointment from certain politicians and Maori groups - mentions Jim Bolger and Winston Peters. Discusses Judy Cunningham's report on the media treatment of race relations. Talks about Maori-Pakeha relations with regard to Doug Graham. Discusses the concept of conciliation - mentions the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Talks about Matui Rata's concept of 'a nation within a nation'- discusses the importance of developing both Maori and Pakeha identities. Recalls reasons for parliamentary select committee enquiry in 1994. Discusses the difference between racism and racial prjudice Access Contact - See Oral History Librarian Interviewer(s) - Megan Hutching Accompanying material - Copies of published articles from newspapers and magazines Arrangement: Tape numbers - OHC-012711, OHC-012712 Quantity: 2 C60 cassette(s). 1 printed abstract(s). 1.18 Hours and minutes Duration. Finding Aids: Abstract Available - abstracting complete OHA-5443 Abstract Available - transcript(s) available. Photocopied articles includes copies of photographs of Chris Laidlaw Search dates: 1943 - 2000

Date: 22 September 1999 - 22 Sep 1999

From: Race Relations Conciliators Oral History Project

By: Hirsh, Walter, 1936-

Reference: OHInt-0751-02

Description: New Zealand Race Relations Conciliator from 1986 to 1989. Born in Munchen-Gladbach, Germany, in 1936. Mentions family's arrival in New Zealand and their settlement in Milton - discusses family members left behind in Germany. Mentions fathers involvment in Dunedin's Jewish community - describes the barriers his family experienced in practicing their religion - compares Jewish experience of assimilation in New Zealand and Australia. Recalls attending Macandrew Intermediate and Otago Boys School in Dunedin, before travelling overseas in 1955 - gives reasons for visiting Israel. Discusses attending Wellington Teachers' College and graduating in 1959 before teaching in Wellington - mentions marriage to wife Adele in 1959. Talks about receiving the 1975 Fulbright Fellowship - describes the areas of research undertaken and visiting various bilingual programmes with the Navaho and Mohawk Indians in the United States and Canada. Discusses how he put the ideas developed through the Fellowship into practice during time as principal of Karori West Normal School and Mount Cook School. Describes how he was appointed Race Relations Conciliator in 1985 - mentions Geoffrey Palmer, Hiwi Tauroa and Hone Turei. Discusses the Race Relations Act 1972. Mentions the need for sensitivity in the Conciliator's role, previous Conciliators and the public expectations regarding the ethnicity of the Conciliator. Defines the role of the Conciliator - describes the climate of Maori-Pakeha relations in New Zealand in the mid 1980s. Discusses various Waitangi Tribunal claims. Talks about the different groups of staff who worked in the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator - mentions the establishment of the Christchurch and Wellington offices. Describes the implementation of the Secondary School Students Cultural Exchange programme, youth forums, Marae Experience programmes and the inclusion of taha Maori into the New Zealand school curriculum. Talks about the establishment of the Educator of Racism at Auckland Hospital, a high-profile case at the Auckland University Marae, and the role the Office played in these cases. Recalls the Office's involvement in the planning of the 1990 Sesquicentennial - discusses his feelings about the commemorations. Access Contact - See Oral History Librarian Interviewer(s) - Megan Hutching Accompanying material - Copies of published articles from books, magazines, and newspapers Arrangement: Tape numbers - OHC-012708, OHC-012709, OHC-012710 Quantity: 3 C60 cassette(s). 1 printed abstract(s). 2.22 Hours and minutes Duration. Finding Aids: Abstract Available - abstracting complete OHA-5442 Abstract Available - transcript(s) available. Photocopied articles include copies of photographs of Walter Hirsh Search dates: 1936 - 1999