Washdat at the Pa - by Ans Westra. [With publisher's note booklet]

WASHDAY AT THE PA By Ans Westra.

Published By Caxton Press 1964 Softcover, very good condition, no inscriptions. A little rubbing & creasing to covers. Minor marks. Black and White Photographs by Ans Westra.

This is a second edition that includes all the original photos plus 20 extra photos and a 8 page booklet of notes by the publisher explaining the controversy and comments, and professional and formal statements.

Controversy: Washday at the Pa was a school bulletin published in 1964 by the Education Department s School Publications section. Ans Westra wrote the text and took the photographs during a visit to Ruatoria. The bulletin charts a day in the life of a rural Maori family with nine children. The family was given the fictitious name Wereta to protect their identity, and their location was given, not as Ruatoria, 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 Maori. The title was also deemed to be misleading, as the family did not live in a pa, but in a private dwelling. The most controversial image was of a girl standing barefoot on top of a stove. According to tikanga Maori, the body should not come into contact with a food preparation area in this way. It was believed by some that no Maori child would do such an offensive thing of her own accord Westra was accused of posing her subjects. As a result of the objections, all 38,000 copies of Washday at the Pa were withdrawn from circulation.