The 'spirit of the hills': Mountaineering in northwest Otago,New Zealand, 1882-1940

Abstract

A defined geographical region and time period is used to examine the growing popularity of mountaineering in relation to its social and cultural context. The study draws on oral histories, diaries, autobiographies, articles and archival material from mountaineers, and blends them with insights from geography, sociology, art history, literary criticism and cultural history. The findings of the study demonstrate that early mountaineering in New Zealand reflected the legacy of Victorian values in relation to the landscape, in combination with a 'pioneering' spirit and a growing sense of a distinctive colonial character. The First World War marked a watershed, followed by an inter-war 'boom' in mountaineering. This growing enthusiasm can be interpreted as a reaction against the dislocation and devastation of the war and the growing rationalization of modern society. It was also part of the development of a sense of belonging to the landscape, and an exploration of what it meant to be a New Zealander. The study concludes that mountaineering is expressive of a relationship between people and landscapes and that, within this context, its historical development reflects wider social and cultural forces.