'Washday at the Pa'

Washday at the Pa was first published as a bulletin for schools by the School Publications Branch of the New Zealand Department of Education in 1964. Ans Westra took the photographs and wrote the text during a visit to Ruatōria. The bulletin charts a day in the life of a rural Māori family with nine children. The family was given the fictitious name ‘Wereta’ to protect their identity, and their location was given, not as Ruatōria, but ‘near Taihape’.

This family lived in a run down, rural cottage, though they were later to move to a State house nearer town. It was the images of the ‘Wereta’s’ living conditions that caused enormous controversy. Some believed the sub-standard living conditions shown implied that these conditions were representative of all Māori. The title was also deemed to be misleading, as the family did not live in a pā, but in a private dwelling. 

The Māori Women’s Welfare League severely criticised Westra’s photographs at their conference, labelling them inaccurate, atypical and unhelpful. They argued that the sub-standard living conditions portrayed would reinforce Pākehā stereotypes of Māori as poor, rural and happily primitive. They believed that this would have a detrimental effect on the efforts of Māori to establish better living conditions.

As a result of objections, all 38,000 copies of Washday at the Pa were withdrawn from circulation by the Minister of Education at the time, Mr Arthur Kinsella.

A second edition of Washday at the Pa was republished privately in the same year with 20 additional photographs.