Petition urges Whanganui council to support Romani/Gypsy

The Gypsy Fair will be in Whanganui later this month. Photo / Lewis Gardner

A Whanganui woman is calling on the council to not rent public land to businesses that use the name “Gypsy” and to acknowledge Romani/Gypsy are a living ethnicity.

Romani activist Anna Moroney-Ponting started a petition after contacting the Whanganui District Council to discuss the upcoming Gypsy Fair at Kōwhai Park later this month.

Moroney-Ponting said the name was appropriating a culture and the council shouldn’t be allowing it to use its land.

In a follow-up email to Moroney-Ponting after the initial phone call, a council staff member said the term “Gypsy” in its current usage could be varied.

“Whether or not the group has a cultural connection to Gypsies as understood in the traditional sense, we have no knowledge of,” the email said.

“I suggested to you that ‘Gypsy’ is more commonly used today to describe nomadic or free-spirited people, which is perhaps how this group see themselves.”

The staff member said the fair was popular and had been visiting Whanganui regularly for many years without any concerns that would make the council consider not accepting their booking on a public reserve.

The Gypsy Fair has been contacted for comment.

Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford said he had reviewed the correspondence.

“I apologise for any comments made by council staff that might have given the impression that council did not acknowledge Romani Gypsy. This is certainly not the case,” he said.

“The council recognises Romani Gypsy as a living ethnicity and supports their right to protect their culture from appropriation or misrepresentation.”

As staff didn’t know whether the organisers of the Gypsy Fair had a connection to Roma Gypsy heritage or not, it wasn’t appropriate for councils to comment on the appropriateness of their name, Langford said.

Romani began leaving northern India around 800 to 1000 years ago, Moroney-Ponting said.

Anna Moroney-Ponting's petition calls for a public apology from the council.

“They have moved right across the world and on every continent,” she said.

“As a nation, we should treat all our people with respect.

“Ignorance is no excuse in my opinion, especially when you’ve drawn businesses’ and council’s attention to the issue for many years.”

Moroney-Ponting said fairs were great for the community and she had no problem with them.

“Go for it and enjoy it, just don’t call yourself a Gypsy if you’re not one.”

Auckland University of Technology diversity professor Edwina Pio said the most recent census in 2018 recorded 132 people in the Gypsy ethnic group.

About 60 per cent of the population had lived in New Zealand for 20 years or more, with 65.9 per cent being born here.

Bob Lovell says one fair dropped the word "Gypsy" from its name after he approached them. Photo / Doug Sherring

“The term ‘Gypsy’ has many layers and it is important to understand these layers, particularly in our diverse country of Aotearoa,” Pio said.

“In fact, with demography in our beautiful island country changing exponentially, it is crucial that various ethnic groups are given their due while also being cognisant of their duties towards other ethnic groups.

“Both rights and duties and various cultural symbolisms must be given due credence as we move forward as strands of various hues in our woven universe.”

Romani elder Bob Lovell said he had been in contact with all the different owners of the Gypsy Fair over the years to discuss dropping the word from their operation.

Another fair, the Gypsy Extravaganza Fair, changed its name after he spoke to the owners personally, Lovell said.

“They weren’t very happy at first but when I explained things properly, they dropped the ‘Gypsy’ out.

“Now, they’re The Extravaganza Fair, and that’s all we’re asking of these other ones.”

The first Romani left India in groups and came to Europe, Lovell said.

“The people there thought they were Egyptians, that’s where the term ‘Gypsy’ comes from.”

While New Zealand didn’t have a huge Romani population, it still numbered “in the thousands”.

“We’re still here all right, don’t you worry about that.”