Story: New Zealand identity

All Black haka

In the picture at centre, the 1905 All Blacks perform a rather half-hearted haka before the match against Scotland in Edinburgh. It seems likely that the first representative rugby touring team which visited Australia in 1884 performed a haka before every match, and certainly the 1888–89 Natives team which toured the United Kingdom performed the haka before at least some of their matches. From 1905 onwards the All Blacks consistently performed the haka before overseas matches (with the exception of the 1935–36 tour of the UK). The haka was one way in which New Zealanders expressed their national identity through Māori culture.

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Random House
Reference: John McCrystal, The Originals: 1905 All Black rugby odyssey. Auckland: Random House New Zealand, 2005, p. 87

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How to cite this page:

Fiona Barker, 'New Zealand identity - New Zealand’s peoples', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/34617/all-black-haka (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Fiona Barker, published 20 Jun 2012