Word of the Week: Palimpsest

by Lehi Lee-Duncan

The word “Palimpsest” was coined in the mid 17^th century and is derived from the Greek palin – ‘again’ – and psēstos – ‘rubbed smooth’ or ‘to scrape’. It was originally used to refer to a piece of writing material (a parchment, for example) which had been used more than once after earlier writing has been erased. More recently however, palimpsest has been used to describe something as having different layers of history – usually still visible.

Dedication of the National War Memorial Carillon, Wellington, 1932    

One recent example of the palimpsest of different histories, memories and stories, is the building and development of Wellington’s Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. Pukeahu was the original Maori place name for Mount Cook, Wellington. It can be translated to “hill-heaped-up” or “sacred hill”. Pukeahu was originally used as a pā (a hill fortification) by the Te Ati Awa tribe and much of the surrounding land was used as gardens, for food.

An 1852 watercolour by John Pearse showing two small Māori figures heading up towards the Buckle Street army barracks. Image: Alexander Turnball Library. from http://www.learnz.org.nz/memorialpark134/bg-easy-f/the-history-of-mount-cook-pukeahu

When European settlers arrived in 1840, they too saw that Pukeahu was a good site to defend, and built numerous prisons, as well as police and army barracks there. The hill was then used for a number of military purposes. Since European settlement, Pukeahu has obviously been heavily modified. The once cone-shaped hilltop has been flattened and lowered by about 30 metres, thus removing any remnants of Maori use and occupation; a metaphor for the erosion of Maori culture at the hands of white colonisers.

Archaeologists carefully excavated this gun pit at the Taranaki end of Buckle Street before the diversion road was built. From http://www.learnz.org.nz/memorialpark134/bg-easy-f/the-history-of-mount-cook-pukeahu

After the First World War, the New Zealand Government decided to build the National War Memorial on Pukeahu because of its shared and military history. In 1931, the army barracks were demolished to make way for the National Art Gallery, the Dominion Museum building and the National War Memorial Carillon.

An 1849 sketch of Wellington, done from the near where the Beehive is today. Mount Cook can be seen in the distance, with the military barracks on its peak.

Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library. Reference: A-292-071. Drawing by Thomas Bernard Collinson. 

From http://www.mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/pukeahu-history-6

Once the Second World War was underway, pressure was put on lower Mount Cook to enlarge its capacity for military operations, in order to accommodate the expansion of New Zealand’s forces. The Royal New Zealand Air Force occupied much of the Dominion Museum building, and underground bunkers, air raid shelters, and trenches were dug into the hill.

The main Wellington Technical College building can be seen in the centre of this photograph taken in 1934 during the construction of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum.

Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library. Photograph by Sydney Charles Smith. 

From http://www.mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/pukeahu-history-9

In recent years, in August 2012, the Government announced their plan for the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park. Their plans included putting Buckle Street underground, in order to improve the area surrounding the National War Memorial Carillon. The project began in 2013 and was finished in 2015, in order to commemorate the centenary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli, Turkey.

Map of Pukeahu National Memorial Park
from http://www.mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park

It is through the layers of this shared military history, that the Government decided to place Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at the foot of Mount Cook. And it is through the palimpsest of memories and stories that serve to remind New Zealanders of the sacrifices that so many individuals and whanau have endured – from the original inhabitants of the Te Ati Awa tribe, to the men and women who fought and worked in wars both overseas and at home – in order that we do not submit ourselves and each other to more bloodshed of this kind.