KEY POINTS:
The roadsides of New Zealand are currently littered with hastily erected signs displaying the beaming faces of mayoral and council candidate hopefuls, all praying that a combination of track record and charisma will inspire the voters to tick their box. In this information age, these potential leaders must rely on marketing techniques to cut through the noise and reach their potential supporters. And, in the wash, probably less than 50 per cent of those eligible will exercise their right to cast a vote.
Is this apathetic disinterest in our leaders just a sign of the times, or a mark of the calibre of the candidates? Why don't we know who many of them are? Is it because it's not like the good old days, where leaders' deeds and achievements were known through word of mouth? For those interested, some dedicated research has to be undertaken to see what most of these people stand for. So, are we making leaders like we used to?
Like our rugby players, New Zealand's leaders of the past have consistently punched above their weight. Unencumbered by tradition, perhaps, our people have broken new ground in the realms of sport, science, business, medicine and human rights.
In David Maida's story can perhaps be found the answer to why our leaders have had to be better than the rest. He discovers that New Zealanders have an in-built distrust of authority and, indeed, a generally dismissive attitude toward those in power, preferring to judge on deed rather than job title. Maybe it is the reason why, in order to gain recognition, New Zealanders have had to be doers, not talkers.
Below are the stories of some of the greats of New Zealand leadership. A seemingly rather random selection, what they have in common, in US economist John Galbraith's definition of leadership, is "the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time."
THE PHILANTHROPIST
Sir John Logan Campbell
During the course of Sir John Logan Campbell's life he underwent an incredible transformation. Displaying little other than a desire to make a quick buck for himself at the beginning of his career, on the day he was buried on the summit of One Tree Hill he had captured the heart of the nation for his acts of kindness.
Like most of the hardy settlers trying to make a living in New Zealand, philanthropy was the last thing on Campbell's mind when he arrived in 1840. He and his friend William Brown bought Motukorea (Brown's Island) for next to nothing from the Maori, and then greedily eyed the modest beginnings of Auckland city across the water. Armed with cash from his father, his intention was to become a land shark in the new city.
Instead, Brown and he became traders and successful businessmen, taking every opportunity to expand their empire in a land rich with opportunity for those with money. Among his many acquisitions was the 1000-acre suburban farm which Campbell re-named One Tree Hill.
Tired of the 'eternal slavery' of his life in New Zealand and yearning for the culture of Europe, Campbell shunned offers of political posts in New Zealand and flitted around the world for the best part of 20 years, returning only to tidy up his business affairs now and again.
However, when he returned in the 1870s it was evident that a different man had emerged. He served on umpteen boards controlling financial institutions, companies, artistic and scientific organisations - in all more than 40. In 1878 he founded Auckland's first art school and he also became an author when he penned Poenamo, a retelling of his early life in New Zealand.
Logan Campbell became known as the founding father of Auckland, a honour that was confirmed when he was made Mayor of Auckland during a royal tour by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and of York simply so he would be the one to welcome them to Auckland. It seems it was this tour that persuaded him to gift Cornwall Park to the people of Auckland. It almost overshadowed his other charity, which saw him donate to a wide variety of causes, particularly involving mothers and young children.
His legacy continues to this day, with the trust in his name continuing to donate to causes relating, among others, to the relief of poverty and advancement of education.
THE SUFFRAGETTE
Kate Sheppard
In 1891, the franchise department of the New Zealand's Women's Christian Temperance Union, which was headed by Kate Sheppard, presented the first of three petitions to Government for the right for women to vote. It had 9000 signatures on it. The next year Sheppard came back with another, this time with 19,000 signatures. The next year, another, with 32,000 signatures.
This gives some idea of the tenacity of a women who simply would not take no for an answer. Her philosopy was simple: "All that separates, whether of race, class, creed or sex, is inhuman and must be overcome."
The Electoral Act 1893 was passed on September 19 and New Zealand became the first country in the world to allow women to have their say.
But Sheppard's job wasn't done yet. With just ten weeks to go until the election, she went on a mission to get women to enrol and exercise their new right. A monumental effort saw 65 per cent of all women over the age of 21 vote in a world first.
Excited by her successes in New Zealand, the women's suffrage movement in England went into full swing, further spurred on by a visit to England by Sheppard in 1894. On her return to New Zealand she helped to found and was elected president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand.
Sheppard's vehicle for political statements came in the form of the White Ribbon, a newspaper started by the Temperance Union of which she was the editor. Through these pages her philosophies were aired, particularly regarding the family: "If the mother is dwarfed, repressed, how can the children grow to their full mental and moral stature?" she asked.
Sheppard continued throughout her life to campaign for government reform, levelling the playing field for all - women and men. Her legacy is omnipresent in all aspects of New Zealand life to this day.
THE SCIENTIST
Sir Ernest Rutherford
Appearing on the stamps of no fewer than four countries, Sir Earnest Rutherford rivals Sir Ed Hillary as our most famous New Zealander.
As a leader, he was legendary, bringing scientific studies to the brink of a breakthrough and then standing aside while a more junior member of his team followed the research to yet another breathtaking conclusion.
Rutherford's life seemed pre-ordained from early on. Born and schooled in Nelson, he went on to Canterbury College in Christchurch. Early promise showed when, stumped as to how to measure the magnetic properties of iron at high frequencies of magnetising current with the equipment he had available, he simply invented two devices to do the job.
After an unspectacular spell as a relieving teacher at Christchurch Boys' High, he failed on three occasions to secure full-time teaching work and ended up going to England on a science scholarship when the student chosen for the scholarship failed to meet the requirements. This move took him to Cambridge where he was the first non-Cambridge graduate to become one of its research students.
Over the course of his career, Rutherford made breakthroughs in many areas of science. His method of studying the decay of uranium forms the basis of radioactive dating of geological samples, and he revealed the incredible nuclear model of the atom. His most famous achievement, the splitting of the atom, was to be utilised to disastrous effect later on, but while researching the possibilities, and at the height of World War I, Rutherford said that he hoped that the world would be at peace when it was discovered how to release the energy of the atom.
Affectionate, modest, enthusiastic and caring, Rutherford effortlessly swept along those that met him through the power of his passions in life. His discoveries were assisted by and indeed may not have all been possible were it not for the talented pool of scientists that were drawn to him like moths to a flame.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER
Sir Apirana Ngata
From the tiny village of Te Araroa on the East Coast came one of the most powerful men in Maoridom. One of the first to play Pakeha at their own game, Apirana Ngata did much to empower his people to stand tall in New Zealand society.
Schooled at Te Aute college in Hawke's Bay, Ngata flourished and earned entry to study law which he completed in Auckland, making him the first Maori to complete a university degree in New Zealand.
Though a prosperous career lay before him, Ngata never practiced, instead making it his lifelong mission to improve his people's social and economic situation. He focused for much of his career on land development and reform, encouraging Maori to retain their land and to turn it into economically successful farms - providing much employment for Maori, and was instrumental in the drafting of legislation for Maori land claims.
In 1905 Ngata was elected in the Eastern Maori parliamentary seat, a position he was to hold for almost 40 years and in 1928 he became native minister when the United Party surprisingly won the election.
During his life Ngata and his wife Arihia Tamati had a total of 11 children, but Ngata was heartbroken when his oldest son, Makarini, contracted dysentry and both he and Arihia, who was nursing him, died.
Ngata did much to revive pride in Maori, encouraging friendly relations between tribes traditionally at loggerheads. With the counsel of his friend, Maori anthropologist Sir Peter Buck, he developed a visionary ideal for his people that he tirelessly worked toward. It is said that on his last meeting with Buck, who was suffering from cancer and had not long to live, the two exchanged "a long look which carried a message of the love and affection which had existed between us', as Buck put it, 'for over 50 years of unclouded friendship'.
Tireless in his work, intelligent, a gifted speaker and a bureaucrat's nightmare, Ngata has left an inspirational legacy for Pakeha and Maori alike.
