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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 Ambiguous migrants: contemporary British migrants in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand Katie Wright Higgins Doctoral Thesis PhD in Human Geography UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX August 2016 2 Abstract A bicultural approach to the politics of settler-indigenous relations, rapidly increasing ethnocultural diversity and its status as an ex-British settler society, make Auckland a fascinating and complex context in which to examine contemporary British migrants. However, despite Britain remaining one of the largest source countries for migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the country’s popularity as a destination among British emigrants, contemporary arrivals have attracted relatively little attention. This thesis draws on twelve-months of qualitative research, including in-depth interviews with forty-six participants, photo-elicitation with a smaller group, and participant observation, in order to develop a nuanced account of participants’ narratives, everyday experiences and personal geographies of Auckland. This thesis adopts a lens attentive to the relationship between the past and the present in order to explore British migrants’ imaginaries of sameness and difference, national belonging, place and ‘the good life’ in Aotearoa New Zealand. First, through attention to the ‘colonial continuities’ of participants’ popular geographical and temporal imaginaries of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the lifestyles they associate with it, this thesis is part of growing attention to historical precedents of ‘the good life’ in international lifestyle migration literature. Secondly, by examining participants’ relations with Māori, other ethnicised groups, bi- and multiculturalism, I expand on whether these migrants’ invest, or not, in ‘the settler imaginary’ (Bell 2014). In doing so, I bring crucial nuance to understandings of ethnic and cultural difference, and settler-indigenous relations, in globalising white settler spaces. As neither fully ‘them’ nor ‘us’ (Wellings 2011), British migrants occupy an ambiguous position in ex-British settler societies. Finally, I examine participants’ notions of shared ancestry and of cultural familiarity with Pākehā, and, in doing so, problematise the notion of Britishness as a natural legacy or passive inheritance in this context. 3 Acknowledgements My sincere thanks goes, first, to the participants who generously shared their time and lives with me, and made this thesis possible. Katie Walsh and Alan Lester have offered fantastic guidance throughout. I’ve felt very fortunate to have benefited from their generous encouragement, depth of experience and critical insights during my time at Sussex, which, including my undergraduate years, has been a significant part of my adult life. I’m grateful also to Anastasia Christou for sharing her enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge while she supervised me during my Masters. I want to thank the administrative staff at Global Studies and the Doctoral School who have helped me to navigate the process of producing a PhD. While at the University of Auckland, Frances Leo Collins and Margie Wetherell kindly included me in their academic communities and made my experience all the richer. My ESRC scholarship gave me the opportunity to pursue postgraduate study. Through the ESRC Overseas Institutional Visit, I was also able to travel for three months to visit Queens University, Canada. Audrey Kobayashi was kind enough to support my application and offer me valuable supervision during my stay. Her advice helped me strengthen my analytical style and encouraged me to complicate my ideas. I’ve met a lot of marvellous fellow PhD students along the way. A heart-felt thank you to all those whose friendship has energised and entertained me during my time at Sussex. With regards to the thesis, in particular, Jessica Terruhn read many of the substantive chapters and provided clarifying feedback, and fantastic company too. Astrid Jamar read the methods chapter and was part of many happy memories with hummus on the beach. My thanks also to Amy Clarke for her thoughtful recommendations on things to read on Britishness. My family, in their different ways, have sustained and inspired me, so I’ll take this opportunity to say a massive thank you. Finally, Jack! In the face of a half-present girlfriend who disappeared into her laptop for days on end, you’ve remained patient, kind and fun to be around. Thank you. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/J500173/1] 4 WORK NOT SUBMITTED ELSEWHERE FOR EXAMINATION I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. 5 Contents Page Abstract Acknowledgements Glossary of Māori terms Figures Chapter One. Ambiguous migrants: contemporary British migrants in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand 14 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….....….14 1.1 British migrants in the ex-British society of Aotearoa New Zealand: the relationship between the past and the present.…………………………………………………………………………………………15 1.2 Outline of the thesis………………………………………………………………………………………………………….19 Chapter two. The ethno-cultural landscape of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand: contextualising British migrants 24 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….24 2.1 A ‘better Britain’: British colonialism and the ‘invention’ of (Aotearoa) New Zealand……….24 2.2 Becoming Māori and Pākehā……………………………………………………………………………………….……28 2.3 The Treaty of Waitangi and biculturalism………………………………………………………………………….30 2.4 Auckland and its shifting ethnic and cultural landscapes…………………………………….…………….34 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36 Chapter three. Collective imaginings: Britishness, the Arcadian ‘good life’ and settler societies 39 Introduction…………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….39 3.1 The ‘fuzzy frontier’ of Britishness and its constituent nations………………………………………..…41 3.1.1 The postcolonial and classed privileges of British emigrants………………………………………44 3.1.2 Unsettling ‘the West and the rest’: British migration to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………46 3.2 The Arcadian ‘good life’ in Aotearoa New Zealand……………………………………………………….…..48 6 3.3 The ethnic and cultural politics of settler societies.…………………………………………….…………….52 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..58 Chapter four. Researching with ambiguous migrants 62 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………….62 4.1 Embodying the field………………………………………………………………………………………………………….62 4.2 Finding British migrants……………………………………………………………………………………………….……65 4.3 Research Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….70 4.3.1 ‘Conversation with a purpose’……………………………………………………………………………………70 4.3.2 Photo-elicitation………………………………………………………………………………..……………………….75 4.3.3 Participant observation.…………………………………………………………………………………….……….80 4.4 The process of writing and analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..84 Chapter five. ‘The good life’: temporal and spatial imaginaries of Aotearoa New Zealand 90 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...90 5.1 In pursuit of ‘the good life’: escape and opportunity………………………………………………………..93 5.2 On living at ‘the end of the world’: isolation and distance………………………………………………100 5.3 ‘Suburban Arcadia’: the dynamic between Idealised natural landscapes and a ‘lack’ of culture………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….104 5.4 On living in a ‘young’ country: the erasure of Māori histories………………………………………...109 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...113 Chapter six. ‘I’m not somebody that sort of dwells on things having to be British’: British migrants’ reflections on their migrancy and performances of Britishness 116 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….116 6.1 ‘The whingeing Pom’ and the cultural cringe…………………………………………………………………..117 6.2 Little Britains: British-themed commercial establishments, friends and sense of humour………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..120 6.3 The classed aspect of ‘the bad migrant’ who does not integrate…………………………………....125 6.4 Celtic capital and ironic ‘flag-waving’: the differences in meaning of signs of nationness between Britain’s constituent nations………………………………………………………………………………....129 7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...132 Chapter seven. Intimate Others and other Others: national belonging and relations with Pākehā and ‘Asians’ 136 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….136 7.1 Aotearoa New Zealand as familiar and ‘exotic’………………………………………………..………….….138 7.2 Awareness of British antecedents: familiar landscapes and notions of shared ancestry with Pākehā ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….140 7.3 Ordinariness and ‘blending in’………………………………………………………………………………………..149 7.4 Other Others and national