Shop signs small step to cherish racial harmony

Laurel Stowell | 28th July 2010

She is as middle class and Pakeha as they come but Louise Barnicoat longs to be able to go out in the street or into a store and use the Maori language.

She has been learning te reo Maori since the mid-1980s, is passionate about it and
says it is beautiful.

On her OE in her early twenties, she went to countries where two and three
languages were spoken.

Then she returned to New Zealand to find a Maori renaissance happening, driven by  influential people like Donna Awatere and Ripeka Evans, the Bastion Point protesters and Maori radicals.

"I saw a people that was struggling to have their culture and language survive
in a Pakeha-dominated country," she said.

Learning te reo helped her understand Maori culture, and she found out how
much Maori had lost during colonisation, including many names being  anglicised.

 "All of that just deletes the impact of Maori in our society," she said.

Ms Barnicoat  instigated the bilingual signs in the pharmacy she owns with husband Des Healy.

Whanganui kuia Julie Ranginui and te reo tutors Greg Ratana and Berend Quirke helped with translation.

The idea of the signs came to her while holidaying in Queenstown, where she was stunned to see signs in Asian languages.

"I thought, why don't we have Maori signs? Maori is an official language of New Zealand, and it's hardly used anywhere in signage."

Many customers didn't notice the signs, but some Maori had.

"Quite a few are really thrilled to see their own language on display."

While learning the language,  Ms Barnicoat became increasingly aware of its fragility. She said the signs were one way she could help.

In Wanganui there were many Maori learning te reo, but it wasn't in common use. Use "on the street" was unlikely -  unless Pakeha learned it too. And she was sure there would be other benefits.

"It makes you accept and appreciate how Maori are. If more Pakeha had knowledge of Maori language, we would live in a more racially harmonised society."

Ms Barnicoat returned to studying te reo when Te Wananga o Aotearoa came to
Wanganui with its free courses. She has also been to Te Atarangi marae stays where nothing but Maori was spoken for several days, and where she was the only
Pakeha.

"When you are in situations like that you realise that that's what it's like for Maori
all the time. They're always in the minority."