Chapter 1 now Online

Post date: Jul 23, 2014 9:1:25 PM

The first Chapter acknowledges the tamariki of Alfred and Ani who didn't reach adulthood. We can only speculate as to why so many died so young.It is well known however that Māori who lived in isolated rural areas were vulnerable to severe epidemics of illnesses such as measles, often accompanied by diarrhoea, bronchitis, pneumonia and dysentery. The Māori death rate during the influenza pandemic of 1918 was seven times that of Pākehā. Serious epidemics occurred regularly in Māori communities until the 1940s.Māori were also severely disadvantaged socially and economically, with poorer housing and nutrition than Pākehā. Diseases such as tuberculosis were closely associated with socio-economic factors such as overcrowded housing.  Modern medical treatments for all these diseases were either non-existent or prohibitively expensive. There can be no doubt that times were indeed very tough back in those days for the whanau.