Professor Richard Shaw with his just-launched memoir, The Forgotten Coast.
Professor Richard Shaw has today launched his memoir, The Forgotten Coast, a deft and honest examination of colonial privilege, his family鈥檚 Catholicism and his relationship with his father.
Professor Shaw is a politics professor within Massey's School of People, Environment and Planning.
In The Forgotten Coast, Professor Shaw unpacks a generations-old family story he was never told: that his ancestors once farmed land in Taranaki which had been confiscated from its owners and sold to his great-grandfather Andrew, who had been with the Armed Constabulary when it invaded Parihaka on 5 November 1881.
鈥淭hat process of discovering Andrew and his involvement with Te P膩hua, farming confiscated land and M膩ori leasehold land, it made the whole process of colonisation very immediate.鈥
In the book, Professor Shaw comes face-to-face with this colonial heritage, something he says he鈥檇 always been somewhat aware of. 鈥淭his book is my way of confronting the background that I鈥檝e always vaguely known about but consciously avoided,鈥 he says.
Professor Shaw鈥檚 father Bob, who died following heart surgery in 2012, is another central figure in the memoir. 鈥淭here were conversations I wished I鈥檇 had with my father. This book is my way of having those conversations with him.鈥
The final key male figure in the memoir is Professor Shaw鈥檚 great-uncle Dick, who at just 20-years-old travelled to Rome to study for the priesthood. He was a figure that always fascinated Professor Shaw, for the journey he took from coastal Taranaki to the Eternal City and back, and in the tragedy of a brilliant and young life wrecked by disease.
Through these three men, the book鈥檚 key focus is evident: how, in a decolonising world, P膩keh膩 New Zealanders wrestle with, and own, the privilege of their colonial pasts.
The Forgotten Coast is published by 暴风资源 Press and is available for purchase on their .
About the author
Richard Shaw is a Professor of Politics at 暴风资源, whose research is published in leading international journals. He is a regular commentator on political issues. His recent article , published on the website of The Conversation, explores similar themes to the ones in The Forgotten Coast.