Today is Waitangi Day. It commemorates a very important event where a treaty was signed between the British Crown and Maori Tribes to create the founding document that essentially created New Zealand as a nation. Our travels today didn’t provide for much exploring but by accident, we came across three sites that were important for this historical day. As a result, today’s post is less about our travels and scenery and more an attempt to explain some of this history through the sites we came across.
The New Zealand Wars (1845–1872) were a series of, mostly North Island, armed conflicts between the British colonial government and various Māori tribes over land ownership and sovereignty. Over 2,000 Māori died, and 1.5 million hectares of land were confiscated. This eventually led to the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. Increasing pressure from settlers to acquire land led to this armed conflict.
A Māori King Movement was established in 1858 to unite Māori tribes, halt land loss to colonisers, and preserve culture by creating a unified leadership figure, with Pōtatau Te Wherowhero becoming the first King. The movement continues today ceremonially with a symbolic, non-constitutional role for the Māori monarch. This was created as a response to increasing European settlement and land alienation, seeking a united Māori voice. Various tribes aimed to combine their leadership to increase their strength and mimic the power of the British Sovereign.
Many battles took place in the area of the Waikato River in the mid 1800s. Not many people know that this period was the first time that soldiers from Australia saw overseas service. It was too early in Australian history for them to serve as Australians; rather they were a detachment of the NSW Corps sent to support the British Army in New Zealand (Colonial soldiers from Australia also saw early service in the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1899 and then the Boer War shortly before the colonies federated to form the country of Australia. World War One was the first time that Australians served as a national army.)
As we passed through the town of KihiKihi, we saw a sign pointing to a battle site, so even though we didn’t understand the significance of, we decided to investige. It commemorated the battle of Orakau, the last fight in the Maori Wars.
This battle began when the spearhead of a strong British force charged an apparently weak Māori position. After two frontal assaults failed, the British besieged the Maori fort.
By 2 April attackers outnumbered defenders six to one. The Maori had no water and artillery had breached their defences. Death or surrender seemed their only options.
That afternoon the defenders – men and women – left the fort in a disciplined body, broke through the British cordon and made for the Pūniu River, pursued by mounted units. Up to 160 Māori were killed over the three days, against 17 British. The events of Ōrākau were mythologised, and when a monument was erected with much ceremony on the site in 1914, 50 years after the siege, it was Māori heroism rather than British ferocity that was remembered.
The famous Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 and is New Zealand’s founding document between the British Crown and Māori chiefs. It aimed to establish a government, protect Māori authority over lands and treasures, and grant rights to Māori. Because of significant translation differences between English and Māori, The interpretation of the treaty continues to shape NZ’s bicultural society. The treaty is a foundational document and interpreted through it are its “principles” (partnership, participation, and protection) rather than the literal text. The Waitangi Tribunal investigates breaches of the Treaty and recommends redress. It is central to New Zealand’s constitution and bicultural identity.
We saw an attraction showing on Google Maps and decided to investigate it. It was ūrangawaewae House in Ngāruawāhia that was opened in 1919 as a new parliament house for the Kīng Movement.
The building combines European and traditional Māori architecture. It was seldom used for parliamentary gatherings but instead housed a health clinic, the local Māori Land Court and the Tainui Trust Board. Its location was part of a continuing attempt to return the Maori Kings to the site of Tāwhiao’s fort. The land on which the fort had stood was confiscated after the New Zealand wars, and the King Movement was obliged to buy it back in order to return there.
Across the park is the Waikato River and ’The Point” is an historically and culturally significant area located at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā rivers. It features a lot of green space, a modern playground, and monuments. It marks the place where the first Māori King was crowned.
We also tried to visit the botanical gardens in the large city of Hamilton through which we passed at around lunchtime, but the car park was crowded out and Jill didn’t fancy looking around with crowds of people in the area. One of the areas in the garden is this formal italian renaiscence garden, Others included a Japanese Garden, Wildflower Garden and a Camelia Garden. We’ll keep it on the list should we return on another day.
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Very interesting article Bruce. We look forward to seeing some of those sites in a couple of weeks when we reach the north island. Lots to talk about at lunch!