Historical smellscapes in Aotearoa New Zealand: Intersections between colonial knowledges of smell, race, and wetlands

Abstract

This paper explores European (Pākehā) settlers' perceptions of smells and why certain smells were labelled as threatening and transgressive, whereas others were deemed desirable and health-inducing. Whether it was the stench of dried fish, the musky odours of wetlands or the scent of flowers, representations of smell pervade the writings of Pākehā in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this paper, we draw attention to the critical role smells played in Pākehā settlers' perceptions of and efforts to radically remake terrestrial and freshwater systems of the Waipā and Waikato Rivers (located in the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Smells, scents, and aromas were all-powerful aides connected to Pākehā settlers' understandings of health and disease. They influenced individual settlers and settler colonial government actions to remake landscapes and waterscapes. Nevertheless, smellscapes are largely overlooked by scholars when discussing environmental change and management regimes.