Tiny Statements:
A social history Aotearoaof New Zealand in badges
Stephanie Gibson and Claire Regnault
Introduction: Tiny objects, big stories 6 The TM Dick & Co. badge collection 14 Youth 18 Work 28 Animalia 44 Social and cultural activities 58 Mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga 72 Living culture 84 Human rights 96 Rainbow communities 110 Women and activism 120 Military 136 Anti-war 148 Remembrance 156 Souvenirs 168 Sport and recreation 176 Notes 204 About the authors 206 Acknowledgements 207 Index 208
Introduction: Tiny objects, big stories
A badge of a badge. The Milkybar Kid badge, 1980s. Maker unknown, New Zealand. 56 x 4 mm. Purchased 2020. Te Papa (GH025906)
7 INTRODUCTION
Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu Although
small, it is treasure
Badges are tiny objects with big stories: evidence that pride, identity and outrage can be wrapped up in small dimensions and worn like mini billboards. They capture important moments in history and, as American academic Katherine Hermes notes, they ‘once lived over someone’s beating heart, proudly proclaiming a point of view, an identity, an alliance with a cause’.1
On a very small canvas they can encapsulate the entire philosophy of an organisation or a movement. They mark a wearer’s place in the world, transmit ideas and causes, communicate belief systems and values, declare allegiances, and indicate status, authority and position. They create a sense of community, identity and pride. They reward and celebrate achievements, indicate feats of service, identify membership of clubs and associations, and declare shared interests and passions. They also memorialise and commemorate events and people.
This book, which draws predominantly from the collections of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa, explores how badges can embody histories of Aotearoa New Zealand. The symbols and slogans on these badges evoke many worlds – some now gone as time passes and memory fades, clubs close down, associations fold, and causes are won or cease to be fought. Some badges take a lot of work to decipher, as over time acronyms become unfamiliar and symbols obscure. But once their meaning becomes known, they can crack open a wealth of memories: ‘I was there’, ‘We fought for that’, ‘I achieved this’, ‘We belonged’. When viewed together, they gain a cumulative power, revealing manifold histories and stories.
The long history of badges dates back to latetwelfth-century Europe, when they were worn for both religious and secular purposes, indicating, for instance, faith, status, allegiance or identity. They were made from cheap metal alloys and either stitched or pinned to clothing.2
By the 1890s, the mass production of aluminium, the invention of celluloid, and advances in colour printing enabled the development of the most common type of badge still seen today – small discs of plastic, printed paper and metal, tightly pressed together with a pin at the back – as seen in The Milkybar Kid badge on the previous page.3 Such badges can be made quickly in response to rapidly evolving social movements or commercial needs.
Badges proliferated from the 1960s, with the emergence and intersection of counterculture and protest movements, including anti-apartheid, peace and anti-nuclear movements, feminism, gay and lesbian liberation, environmental and conservation movements, and those that espoused anti-establishment points of view. Badges became widespread, too, among followers of music bands and other aspects of popular culture, along with the trend towards more informal clothing.
Borough of Feilding Councillor badge, c.1981. Possibly by TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 49 x 31 x 7 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH010677)
8 TINY STATEMENTS
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9 INTRODUCTION
Badges have been produced in their thousands for a wide range of social organisations and cultural happenings. Worn with pride and attitude, this small selection provides a glimpse into the diverse interests and activities that have brought people together in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Social and cultural activities
A friendly pint
The Wanganui Cosmopolitan Club badge depicts the Whanganui River’s taniwha Tutaeporoporo in the form of a tuatara clutching a flaming torch. The image of Tutaeporoporo is based on the city’s coat of arms, which was presented to Whanganui in 1955 by Dr Morris Watt (1892–1973), a local medical doctor and an authority on heraldry. The club was founded in 1893 by the Hon. John Ballance MP as a place ‘where men of all conditions of life might meet for mutual help and education’.26 By the 1950s, when this badge was produced, ‘cossie clubs’ had become more of a venue for socialising over a drink.27 Featuring a frothing pint of beer flanked by a rampant lion, the Club Hotel Social Club badge celebrates the conviviality of a drink with mates in familiar surrounds. The badge for the Old Folks Association of Levin features hands clasped in friendship. The first Old Folks Association was founded in New Plymouth in 1941 to provide a place where elderly people could meet to escape loneliness.28 The organisation was non-political and non-sectarian, and strove to break down class distinctions.29
Old Folks Association of Levin badge, 1970s. By TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 24 x 34 x 13 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH021988)
Wanganui Cosmopolitan Club badge, 1950s–70s. By TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 30 x 21 x 7 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH021501)
Club Hotel Social Club badge, 1970s. By TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 24 x 25 x 7 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH021444)
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SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
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Flower power
Horticultural societies flourished in Aotearoa New Zealand as exhibitions of blooms, fruit and vegetables became regular features on the social calendar throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth. Many gardeners embraced a variety of flowers, but others formed their own specialist societies dedicated to the cultivation of a single type, such as roses, irises or camellias.
The Rosarian badge is thought to have been made for members of the Wellington Rose Society, whose members sought to ‘implant roses in the hearts and gardens of the people’. In 1949 they welcomed ‘all worshippers of the Rose throughout New Zealand’ to Wellington for the country’s first rose festival.30
The New Zealand Iris Society was established in 1950. Its original badge, depicted here, features a blue tall bearded iris and was modelled on the American Iris Society logo. Today, the New Zealand society is represented by a purple arilbred iris called ‘Gentle Song’, which was hybridised by Alison Nicholl of Nelson.
The New Zealand Camellia Society was founded in 1957. This particular badge was worn by Elspeth Withers (née Simpson, 1927–2011), who was a keen floral designer from childhood.
Wellington Rose Society badge, 1950s–70s. By TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 24 x 32 x 7 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH021442)
New Zealand Iris Society badge, 1960s–70s. By TM Dick & Co. Ltd, Petone, New Zealand. 26 x 7 mm. Purchased 2003. Te Papa (GH021441)
New Zealand Camellia Society badge, early 1980s. Maker unknown, New Zealand. 24 x 17 x 6 mm. Gift of the Withers family, 2022. Te Papa (GH026210)
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Margaret’s magical scarf
Margaret Mahy (1936–2012), the celebrated author of books for children and young adults, wore this badgeadorned scarf when she gave readings in schools and libraries. The scarf bears the many badges that Mahy picked up during her travels. Not surprisingly, they celebrate the power of books.
A Scholastic book badge simply states ‘Reading counts’, and other badges encourage people to ‘Be a read-asaurus’, ‘Make a book date’ and ‘Buzz to your library’; they announce that ‘Books are bewitching’, ‘take you higher’ and that ‘Happiness is a good book’.
A host of well-loved children’s characters also populate the scarf, from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle to Jill Marshall’s ‘sensational spylet’ Jane Blonde, and the elusive smiling lion from Mahy’s own children’s classic A Lion in the Meadow.
Most of Mahy’s scarf badges testify to her life with books, but they also hint at other interests, including two fan badges for the World Wrestling Federation stars Ravishing Rick Rude and ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage.
Scarf with badges and charms attached, 1980–90s. Scarf knitted by Bridget Mahy, New Zealand. 2389 x 300 mm. Gift of Bridget Mahy and Penny Mahy, 2021. Te Papa (GH018458)
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Turn on, tune in
This New Zealand Music Month badge features the logo of the New Zealand Music Commission’s annual monthlong campaign each May to promote, encourage and support music made by New Zealand musicians. The iconic, optically compelling logo is a perfect design match for the standard round badge. New Zealand Music Month began in 1997 as New Zealand Music Week. The original idea was to raise awareness of the quality of local music and get more of it played on commercial radio. At that time, commercial radio was reluctant to play local music, but Music Week helped turn that around, gaining enough momentum to expand the week into Music Month in 2001. Embraced by the public, Music Month is now a cherished celebration of home-grown talent from across the country.31
New Zealand Music Month badge, 2010. Produced by New Zealand Music Commission. 32 x 7 mm. Gift of Chris Rae, 2012. Te Papa (GH021748)
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Badges play an important role in activism, helping spread messages from the front line of protests into everyday life. The badges in these pages demonstrate how complex political and cultural issues for Māori have been effectively communicated and advanced by tohu (symbols, signs) and messaging.
Mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga
Walking the whenua
Hīkoi (walk, march) was a long-established tradition for Māori, in which walking the boundaries of their districts helped people learn which whenua (land) belonged to them. In the twentieth century, hīkoi became a key protest strategy for Māori fighting for their lands.
In 1975, the Māori Land March left Te Hāpua in the far north to march to Parliament in Wellington. Organised by Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa (‘those with foresight’), the march called for ‘not one more acre of Māori land’ to be lost. It was led by Whina Cooper (Te Rarawa, 1895–1994), who presented a petition to the government signed by 200 Māori kaumātua (elders) and 60,000 people.32 The march brought Māori concerns about land loss into the wider public awareness. Not long after, the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 was passed, enabling breaches of the Treaty to be investigated.
In 2004, a hīkoi opposing the Foreshore and Seabed Act also left Northland for Parliament. The legislation enabled the Crown to own New Zealand’s foreshore and seabed, which was seen by many as a breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi. The badge ‘No raupatu in our time’ refers to when Māori land was forcibly confiscated (raupatu) as a result of the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.
Support Maori Land March badge, 1975. Possibly produced by Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa, New Zealand. 44 x 5 mm. Gift of Meg Bailey, 2020. Te Papa (GH025627)
No raupatu in our time badge, 2004. Made by Rainbow Copy, New Zealand. 46 x 6 mm. Gift of Meg Bailey, 2020. Te Papa (GH025629)
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MOTUHAKE AND TINO RANGATIRATANGA
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MANA
