Cambridge Imperial & Post-Colonial Studies SETTLERS, WAR, AND EMPIRE IN THE PRESS UNSETTLING NEWS IN AUSTRALIA AND BRITAIN, 1863-1902 SAM HUTCHINSON Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series Series Editors Richard Drayton Department of History King’s College London London, UK Saul Dubow Magdalene College University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK “In its detailed exploration of settler discourses, anxieties, emotions, and enthu- siasms, set alongside British newspaper coverage of Britain’s settler colonies, and a broader structural account of settler colonialism, this book builds on existing scholarship and breaks new ground.” —Ann Curthoys, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, Australia “This book not only informs us about Australian perspectives on imperial wars, it also enhances our understanding of the imperial press system as one of the cor- nerstones of the British Empire as a whole.” —Alan Lester, Professor of Historical Geography, University of Sussex, UK, and Research Professor in History, La Trobe University, Australia “This timely and ambitious book re-examines settler press accounts of noted British Empire wars: highly charged events to bring to bear historical and theo- retical analyses of settler colonialism and print culture. This is the best kind of postcolonial cultural studies: rigorous in its archival depth, demanding in its argu- mentative reach, and theoretically sophisticated. Language and material power, print and feelings, the quotidian and the epic, the national and the global: each are brought together in productive tension in Hutchinson’s insightful analysis.” —Anna Johnston, Associate Professor, ARC Future Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Queensland, Australia The Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies series is a collection of studies on empires in world history and on the societies and cultures which emerged from colonialism. It includes both transnational, compar- ative and connective studies, and studies which address where particu- lar regions or nations participate in global phenomena. While in the past the series focused on the British Empire and Commonwealth, in its cur- rent incarnation there is no imperial system, period of human history or part of the world which lies outside of its compass. While we particularly welcome the frst monographs of young researchers, we also seek major studies by more senior scholars, and welcome collections of essays with a strong thematic focus. The series includes work on politics, econom- ics, culture, literature, science, art, medicine, and war. Our aim is to col- lect the most exciting new scholarship on world history with an imperial theme. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13937 Sam Hutchinson Settlers, War, and Empire in the Press Unsettling News in Australia and Britain, 1863–1902 Sam Hutchinson Independent Scholar Mt Victoria, Wellington New Zealand Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series ISBN 978-3-319-63774-7 ISBN 978-3-319-63775-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63775-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017948267 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: © Classic Image/Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Tegan and Hunter ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book began as a doctoral thesis at the University of Western Australia. UWA was a brilliant place to study, and I beneftted greatly from the quality of supervision and collegiality I found there. I wish to thank Tony Hughes-d’Aeth for his patient direction over several years. I unfailingly received guidance from Tony that was as encouraging as it was perceptive. Gareth Griffths provided generous and enthusiastic readings of embryonic versions of this book, from initial chapter frag- ments to full drafts. Jeremy Martens keenly read several early chapters and gave warm reassurance and advice. Golnar Nabizadeh read some chapters in their older incarnations and made perceptive comments. The careful readings and astute advice of Anna Johnston, Kirsten McKenzie, and Tony Ballantyne were invaluable in getting this book off the ground. All three mixed encouragement with helpful, practical suggestions. Ann Curthoys and Alan Lester later provided feedback and suggestions that calmed the nerves and strengthened the book. Michael Allen read parts of the book and gave valuable advice. Special thanks to Dave Haines for carefully reading and commenting on the entire book at a very late stage. Ross Webb and Jo Hawkins also kindly offered a last minute read-through of parts of the book. I thank Taylor Francis for their permission to republish parts of Hutchinson, Sam. ‘Humanitarian Critique and the Settler Fantasy: The Australian Press and Settler Colonial Consciousness during the Waikato War, 1863–64’. Settler Colonial Studies 4, no. 1 (2014): 48–63. At vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Palgrave Macmillan I thank Oliver Dyer, Molly Beck, and the editorial team for their patience and their help. I am forever indebted to John and Lyn Hutchinson for all they have given me, especially their confdence and support. For their limitless gen- erosity I also thank Greg and Melody Jenkins. Above all, my deep gratitude and admiration goes to Tegan Jenkins for her unconditional love, and for never accepting my excuses. Tegan’s labours went beyond accepting far more than her fair share of parental duties. She showed incredible patience, understanding, and good humour throughout this overlong process, and was the perfect antidote to my hesitations. She repeatedly sacrifced her own time and energy. She carefully read every word of the book, and made excellent suggestions. I would not have written it without her. For all this and more, the book is hers as well as mine. But any remaining mistakes are all my own. And to Hunter—you too showed patience, in your own way. I am very proud of you. This is not the book you wanted, but I look forward to when you can give me your thoughts. In the meantime, this book is for you. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Symptoms of Empire 19 3 The Waikato War: Settler Rights and Production 37 4 The Waikato War: Philanthropy and the Settler Fantasy 61 5 The Sudan Crisis: Displays of Unity 83 6 The Sudan Crisis: Creating Historical Memories 111 7 The South African War: Trying Again 133 8 The South African War: Points of Fracture 161 9 Conclusion 187 End Notes 197 Bibliography 253 Index 279 ix “What a happy country this might be without newspapers!’’ Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 1885, 13. xi CHAPTER 1 Introduction What happens when we look at wars of empire, not to learn about the wars themselves, but for what they tell us about the broader narratives that sustained British settler and metropolitan societies? What connec- tions can we draw between discussions of confict abroad, and British colonial and imperial feeling? What did settlers talk about when they talked about war? In September 1863, a leading New South Wales newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), republished an article entitled ‘Natal’ from the Yeoman. The article praised the ability of British colonists to ‘reproduce the representative Briton’. Its writer assured those readers unable to physically travel to the colonies that they too could witness this development. Their knowledge, though, would come through ‘a some- what easier process’. Namely, by ‘travers[ing] the seas of newspapers which refect our brethren and cousins in all their ways and phases, their businesses and pleasures, their joys and sorrows, their downlyings and uprisings, their goings in and comings out’. The article noted that colonists faced hardships of a particular kind in settling their lands. These diffculties notwithstanding, the ‘British colonist remains intact; and he who has taken up the leading journal of one colony and read through its pages may apply the larger portion of it, with scarcely a variety, to any other of them’. In this light, ‘it is evident that the effervescent fooleries and sparrings of mimic wars are but the spray tossed up on the crest of the advancing billow’. It told its readers © The Author(s) 2018 1 S. Hutchinson, Settlers, War, and Empire in the Press, Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63775-4_1 2 S. HUTCHINSON that ‘Slower or faster, but everywhere deep and strong, the wave of colo- nial life presses on. As the white man advances the savages receded, and a mimic London is born amid the stumps of the aboriginal wilderness.’1 Here, in pages designed for those whose livelihoods rested upon their ability to wrench economic value from the soil, was a thumbnail sketch of an epic global drama.