It is a fundamental cornerstone in the nation-building history of Aotearoa that when John Ballance was Minister of Native Affairs in 1894:
…one of his achievements was helping to persuade… Horonuku Te
Heuheu, to gift to the nation the land and mountains in the central North Island that became in 1894 the Tongariro National Park, the country’s first national park and one of the earliest in the world.231
However, iwi history surrounding the Crown’s acquisition of the maunga differs from that well-known version.
A Crown Forestry Rental Trust Report states :
Ko te korero a Ngati Tuwharetoa, na te herehere-a-whare o Te Heuheu ki Heretaunga i whakapehi nei ki runga ki a ia, mana hei tuku i nga maunga hei koha ki te ao. Na te kitenga o tetahi o wahine whakatika whare no Ngati Tuwharetoa i hoki mai ai ki te kainga ka korero 'kua mauheretia a Te Heuheu ki te kainga.' Ka tae te wa i tohua a Te Heuheu ka puta a ia o enei korero: 'Ka wareware au, i tohua.[sic]232
229 Ibid, 310.
230 Ibid.
231 King, “The Penguin History of New Zealand,” 261. 232 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,”320.
49 Ngati Tuwharetoa further contend that:
No te hokinga mai o Te Heuheu ka mea atu ki te iwi na te whakapehitanga a te Karauna me te korero a [Te] Kerehi,233 na kona i whai aua tangata ma Te Heuheu e haina. Kaore a Te Heuheu i puta te panui ki mua i te kooti, … na te rongo, na Te Kerehi i puta. Ko te ingoa o te panui ki roto i te Kooti, 'ko te panui a Te Kerehi mo Tongariro.' No muri mai ka haere a Te Heuheu ki Akarana i runga te tono a te Karauna, i reira haina ai i tetahi pepa i nga tihi o nga maunga ki te Karauna. [sic]234
Tongariro and the surrounds are considered wahi tapu to Tuwharetoa.235 It is for this reason that Tuwharetoa sought to prevent Pakeha, mostly tourists, from going there.236 This is how Lewis became involved in the debate
surrounding the creation of the Tongariro National Park. This is further disputed by Tureiti Te Heuheu, who commented to the Minister of Tourist and Health Resorts, William Nosworthy, in the 1920s on the issue of sale:
Mr. Lewis made a statement to my Father in this manner: that in seeing the other Rangatiras237 my Father put into the other
sub-divisions had consented to sell, and the Government were acquiring that part of the country, and also that the Prime Minister had agreed that the portion asked for by my Father be set aside for himself, and should be held sacred, he made that request at the time…that my Father should agree that the Queen be represented in the title along with himself, so that the Crown should be represented in the title of the partition. I
233 Lewis, the Under Secretary for the Native Affairs Department.
234 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 320-321; The “panui” mentioned is the application to the
Native Land Court to determine title to the maunga.
235Te Wananga (Unknown), 5 January 1887, 8. 236 Ibid; Te Wananga (Unknown), 22 June 1878, 318.
237 A map was drawn up by Lewis and a list complied which placed the rangatira of Tuwharetoa on the lower slope of
50 was present and my Father…asked me what I thought about
that arrangement. I then said to my Father that I thought he should agree… as it would be a very great honour to him to have the name of the Queen as co-owner, as it were, in that petition. It was decided that it should be. [sic] 238
Horonuku was harshly criticised for these actions.239
It is this panui that Lewis issued to Ballance, which he read to Parliament that
is the problem for Tuwharetoa. The panui was written in Te Reo and English.
However, the translations did not match and Horonuku’s intention was lost in the translation. In the Te Reo version Te Heuheu’s 'tuku' of the peaks 'mo te Rahui whenua ka whakatapua nei mo te iwi o Tongariro.' However, the English version states, 'the subject of making Tongariro a National Park' without no mention of for the iwi of Tongariro. The word 'whakatapua' or 'to make or be held sacred' was substituted for the understanding of a 'National
Park.' The Tongariro National Park Act 1894 ('Te Ture Paaka Mo te Iwi Katoa i
Tongariro 1894') cited the address to Parliament on 23 September 1887 regarding the supposed 'gifting.' It substituted the words 'rahui paaka' or ‘reserved park’ for the intended term of Horonuku’s which was 'rahui whenua', translated as sacred or reserved territory and ignored, 'mo te iwi o Tongariro' or for the iwi [Maori surrounding] Tongariro.
Tuwharetoa contend that no one man could hold mana over the mountains so
the concept of 'gift' could never come to fruition.240 In terms of tikanga it is
argued by Tuwharetoa that it is the maunga holds mana over the man, and it
is the kaitiaki, Te Iwi Patupaiarehe, enforces the mana of the maunga.241 The material that was printed in the Te Wananga Newspaperenforces the tapu
238 Robyn Anderson, “Tongariro National Park: An Overview Report the Relationship Between Maori and the Crown in
the Establishment of the Tongariro National Park,” (includes an interview with Tureiti Te Heuheu and William Nosworthy), (research report for the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, Wellington, 2005), 82.
239 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 372. 240 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 371. 241 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,”50-51.
51 nature of the maunga. What must be noted is that the reading of the letter took place in parliament on 23 September 1887. This was a day before Horonuku was awarded sole title in the Native Land Court on 24 September 1887. This is a stark departure from the 1886 order, where the nineteen rangatira were
relegated to the lower slopes and the Queen owned the peaks.242
It is clear from Tureiti’s interview that Horonuku’s intention was at most to have the Queen as co-owner. Given what had happened to the iwi of Taranaki, Waikato, Tauranga Moana and their confiscations, it is clear that Horonuku and Tureiti were trying defensive tactics to preserve Tuwharetoa’s land, considering Horonuku’s house arrest. Gilbert Mair came to formally arrest
Horonuku, however Tuwharetoa managed to persuade him not to do so.243 It is
clear from Horonuku’s comments that he considered his release from house arrest to be the result of this apparent 'gifting' and that the Crown, either by gift,
purchase, or confiscation, was going to secure title to the maunga. This was
most likely due to the growing Pakeha interest in the area as a tourist attraction. The only reason to secure a 'rahui whenua' that can be found is that
Horonuku was seeking to restore some form of mana244 for what had
transpired at the hands of the Crown. Even Grace recognises that he had no authority to give the maunga.245 The following assertion, 'ka mea te ao katoa,
he mea takoha “gift” ki te Kawanatanga. Ka mea hoki an Ngati Tuwharetoa he mea whanako ke' 246 appears to be correct.
However, despite this popularly held iwi viewpoint, there are some
adjustments that need to be made. Robyn Anderson states that, 'at the heart of the matter was the question of [Horonuku] Te Heuheu’s powers [in a largely hereditary position] and the Crown’s interpretations and exploitation of his
242 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 372.
243 This was done by loaning some of Tuwharetoa’s most prized taonga which currently make up the Gilbert Mair
collection. Tuwharetoa contends that we never gifted in perpetuity. Refer to CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 302.
244 Grace, “Tuwharetoa,” 498. 245 Ibid.
246 CFRT, “Te Taumarumarutanga o Ngati Tuwharetoa,” 329. Translation: The whole world says, it is a “gift” to the
52 position within the tribal organisation that constituted an "iwi".' 247 In the case of
the maunga the voices of Te Herekiekie and Te Huiatahi were ignored. Te Huiatahi’s objections for example, 'were considered of negligible significance and dismissed without investigation.'248 Therefore, southern-based hapu lost their rights without their knowledge and agreement.249
Horonuku was no passive bystander in this scenario. Although held captive by the Crown, Horonuku, over and above other Tuwharetoa rangatira, enjoyed
good backing from the Crown.250 This was because, in making his decision to
'tuku' the maunga, Horonuku was faced with a major problem to do with the
mana of his line. If he opposed the Crown, while others supported it, his mana
in the eyes of the Crown would diminish.251 Therefore, he moved to promote
rather than oppose because, according to Anderson, 'he was a man of prestige, but also because he had been persuaded to throw his weight behind government goals.'252 What Horonuku did through the land court and the act of
'tuku' was in fact an act of support, and in turn, the Crown affirmed the mana
of Te Heuheu. What he did was subject us as individual hapu to the whims of
the Crown and 'sign a pact with the devil' in that the mana of Te Heuheu is ultimately tied to Crown support.