Keith Sinclair

Historian and poet

• Born: December 5, 1922
• Birthplace: Auckland, New Zealand
• Died: June 20, 1993
• Place of death: Canada

Also known as: Sir Keith Sinclair, CBE

Education: Auckland Teachers' College (attended); Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland)

Significance: An alumnus and long-term professor at the University of Auckland, Sir Keith Sinclair was known for his comprehensive historical studies of New Zealand as well as his volumes of poems. He co-founded the New Zealand Journal of History and famously authored A History of New Zealand (1959). His works marry humanity and scholarship and paint New Zealand's history in a light that can be appreciated by a diverse national audience. Sinclair was the first New Zealand writer to be knighted for literature.

Background

Keith Sinclair was born in Auckland in 1922 and grew up in nearby Point Chevalier. His family was poor and large—he was one of eight children. Sinclair attended Mount Albert Grammar School, before enrolling at the Auckland Teachers' College and part time at the Auckland University College, University of New Zealand (now the University of Auckland). However, World War II interrupted Sinclair's education. He trained as a naval cadet in 1943 and served in both the navy and the army. After his discharge in May 1946, Sinclair returned to Auckland University College and took master's and doctoral degrees there.

Sinclair's literary interests were diverse. His first volume of poems, Songs for a Summer and Other Poems, was published in 1952. Many of his poems recall his childhood along the shore of Waitematā Harbour. Still, his love of New Zealand's history—particularly its social history—came to the fore early in his career. His doctoral dissertation focused on the nineteenth-century battles between the government and the Māori. After earning his doctorate Sinclair remained at Auckland, joining the history department.

Life's Work

Keith Sinclair became known for his propensity towards intensive research. He also developed reputation as a charismatic speaker and wrote in a style that engaged even the most casual reader. The latter characteristic shone through in 1959, when one of Sinclair's seminal works, A History of New Zealand, was published. In A History of New Zealand, Sinclair tells the story of New Zealand from its beginnings as a fishing site for the Māori through the mid-twentieth century as a developed, bicultural nation participating in the Cold War. Sinclair wrote with wit and in the vernacular, appealing to a reader who otherwise might not read a comprehensive historical account. He was also unafraid to present the missteps made by New Zealand's historical figures—not overtly criticising them, but instead highlighting the imperfections evident in any nation's development. A History of New Zealand became a best-seller, was updated several times and remains one of Sinclair's best-known works.

Sinclair authored more than two dozen other works, many of them acclaimed. He built upon his dissertation in another well-known historical account, The Origins of the Maori Wars (1957), while publishing his second volume of poetry, Strangers or Beasts (1954). In all, Sinclair wrote five books of poetry; the final collection, Moontalk (1993), remained in circulation in 2017. In 1967 he also co-founded the New Zealand Journal of History, which he edited until his death, and ventured into children's literature with Reefs of Fire (1977).

Sinclair did not shy away from national politics. In fact, he briefly became a part of it—in 1969, he won election to represent Eden in Parliament. His political career was cut short, however, when several dozen postal ballots received three weeks after the election upended his victory. He is better remembered as a biographer of left-wing politicians William Pember Reeves and Walter Nash. In 1976, Sinclair published a detailed account of Labour Party politician Nash's nearly forty-year career, including his three years as prime minister from 1957 to 1960. After poring through countless personal documents, Sinclair characterises Nash as an energetic and quirky leader. Sinclair's Walter Nash garnered him the 1977 Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Award for non-fiction.

For his commitment to the nation's history, Sinclair was named a commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1983 and knighted in 1985. He continued to teach at the University of Auckland until his retirement in 1987.

Sinclair died on 20 June 1993. His autobiography, Halfway round the Harbour, was published posthumously that year.

Impact

Sinclair is credited with showing readers the vast tapestry of New Zealand as a nation. One consistent theme of Sinclair's works is New Zealand's ever-evolving identity. As with Walter Nash, Sinclair's attention to the details associated with Māori history—even learning te reo Maori so he could read nineteenth-century documents—helped paint the Māori as essential to the construction of the New Zealand national culture apart from the British Empire or European history.

Whether discussing the country's Māori roots, its political maturation or its social development, Sinclair engaged and appealed to audiences using simple language and humour. Some see his romanticism as equally evident in his New Zealand histories as in his prolific poetry. A product of New Zealand's intellectual movement of the 1950s, Sinclair was a charismatic professor as well. He became an international emissary, sharing with the world New Zealand's detailed and complex history.

Personal Life

In 1947, Sinclair married Mary Edith Land, with whom he had four sons. He later remarried to fellow historian and colleague Raewyn Dalziel in 1976.

Principal Works

Nonfiction

The Origins of the Maori Wars, 1957

A History of New Zealand, 1959

William Pember Reeves: New Zealand Fabian, 1965

Walter Nash, 1976

The Story of New Zealand, 1985 (with Judith Bassett and Marcia Stenson)

A Destiny Apart: New Zealand's Search for National Identity, 1986

Kinds of Peace: Maori People after the Wars 1870–85, 1991

Halfway round the Harbour, 1993

Poetry

Songs for a Summer, 1952

Strangers or Beasts, 1954

Moontalk, 1993

Bibliography

Chan, Stephen. "Obituary: Sir Keith Sinclair." The Independent, 3 Aug. 1993, www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-sir-keith-sinclair-1459112.html. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.

Gray, Geoffrey G., et al., editors. Scholars at War: Australasian Social Scientists, 1939–1945. ANU E Press, 2012.

"Keith Sinclair." Auckland University Press, The University of Auckland, 2017, www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/authors-a-z/keith-sinclair.html. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.

"Sinclair, Keith." New Zealand Book Council, Jan. 2017, www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writer/sinclair-keith. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.

"Walter Nash." Auckland University Press, The University of Auckland, 2017, www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-1976/Walter-Nash.html. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017.