International Geographical Union

From an “Absent to a Silent Presence”—New Zealand at the International Geographical Congress 1875 to 1952

“…At the 1871 Congress the largest group of attendees comprised diplomatic, military, and administrative personnel; only 22% were academic geographers but by the 1964 Congress academics constituted 85% of registrants (Kish, ). NZ involvement follows a similar trajectory with an added phase when British delegates “represented” the Dominion and where English slowly becomes the predominant language of the meeting, albeit that French remains the other official language of the IGC.…”

“…An IGU of participating national geographical societies mooted as early as 1881, formally proposed in 1913 but delayed by WW1, was finally established by representatives from Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Portugal and Spain in 1922 (Kish, ). NZ would receive invitations to attend the Cairo Congress in 1925, the Cambridge Congress of 1928 and the Warsaw Congress of 1934.…”

“…Amery's memorandum had signalled new imperial arrangements. To 1913 Congress involvement was essentially by individuals, under the IGU from 1925 membership was by country and attendance by delegates (Kish, ). Amery's memorandum seemingly triggered the Department of Lands and Survey in 1929 to pay the IGU £10 subscription ( AJHR , ).…”

New Zealand Geography and the International Geographical Union Part II: Audience to stage, 1956–1974

“…For the IGU the period from 1956 to 1974, is one of shaking off older European and imperial traditions in terms of Congress and Regional Conference sites: Congresses in India (1968) Montreal (1972), Regional Conferences in Japan (1957) and NZ (1974). During this same period English language presentations begin to dominate the programme reinforcing Anglophones speakers' sense of Anglo‐American geographical approaches and concerns as being the template for international geography (Kish, ).…”