ABSTRACT
In a 1987 article entitled ‘New Zealand’s “Calling Card” ’ Jeremy Dwyer, Mayor of Hastings, described his meeting with Rewi Alley in the deepest awe. To the mayor and many other New Zealanders, Alley was the grand old man of New Zealand-China relations, whose very name opened doors. Though Alley’s ‘communist’ (note the use of lower case) sympathies were noted, this was for background interest only. By the 1980s, the Rewi Alley myth had come full circle and Alley was once again a figure New Zealand politicians were proud to claim as their own. Dwyer’s account reflects the change in attitudes towards Alley that came about after New Zealand formalised diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. From this time, the government began to realise that Alley’s presence and status in China were more an advantage than a disadvantage.
