Herramientas comerciales

Plan ill ustratrng

R epollt of

C

CHAPTER TH REE

THE SURVEY OF THE WAlMATE PLAINS 1 8 7 8

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In the years between 1 8 65 _and 1 8 7 8 _{n o attempt was made to enforce the}

confiscation north of the Waingongoro river. lVIost of the land remained confiscated on paper but there was a world of difference to the Maoti between confiscation on paper and confiscation on the ground. The peace proclamation had assured them that no more land would be taken . but year by year as funds became available. surveyors were moved onto confiscated land in other parts of the country to survey for sale or for military settlement. This ·creepi n g confiscation · of land belonging to loyal Maori or to retumed rebels who in many cases had occupied it peacefully since the wars . had led to unrest and interruptions to the surveys in other parts of the west coast and in Wai kato and Bay of Plenty . and to a fres h upti si n g under the N gatiruanui chief. Titokowaru . in 1 8 6 8 - 6 9 . _{But by} 1 8 7 8 _{the country had been}

preoccupied for many years with issues of colonization and public 'vVOrks rather than Ma01i affairs . The Ma01i were supposed to appreciate the benefits close European settlement was to biing to them and the government felt secure in the belief that they held the confiscated lands by conquest and were free to occupy them as and when they saw fit.

As the government had fai led to occupy the west coast lands on two occasi ons - after the confiscation and again after Titokowaru · s war - the local tribes h ad naturaliy come to see the confiscation as a non event . This view had been

reinforced from time to time by promises that those who remained at peace \VOulcl be petmittecl to retain their lands . and by the curious system whereby the

government paid the Maori and accepted deeds of cession for land supposedly confiscated in 1 8 65 . _The 1 8 _{70s . the ·vogel years ' . were a time of fin ancial loans}

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any price was preferable to a renewal of the 'native difficulty ' if loans were to be raised in the English market and settlement of the country carried on . But as the colony ' s debt increased and as settlement proceeded there was a pressing need both for a new source of finance and for more land. The great fenile untouched

Waimate p lains lying ' idle and unused' in MaOii hands were a ptize no longer to be i g nored. When the Grey government turned its attention to the plains and, in July

1 8 7 8 . without the least eff011 to survey or even define the promised reserves for the resident M aoti population . began instead to survey for sale. there was a spirited reaction from the west coast tribes . That this reaction was pacific was due to the infl uence of Te Whiti and Tohu. two remarkable Taranaki chiefs . and the

wil lingness of their followers to attempt to gain justice and the fulfilment of government promises by other than warl i ke means.

There had been many chances to put the matter of the confiscated lands on a more satisfactory footing. After Taurua's Pakakohe hapu were retumecl from

imprisonment i n Dunedin in 1 8 72 they were finally settled on reserves south of the Waingongoro . but no reserves were delineated north of the river for Titokowam · s people. 1 The native minister. Donalcl M cLean . hac\ decided ' he would not abandon the confiscation: but neither would he enforce it ' . Rather h e would try to

extingu ish N gatiruanui claims in return for payment of compensation . 2 This was cet1ain ly not a situation conceded by the acts and proclamations of confiscation . according to which Titokowaru and his people had twice been in rebellion and had never ' come in and submitted to the Queen 's authority ' .3 But Titokowaru was still widely feared and the govemment . deprived of the presence of impetial troops. and anxious to raise loan money in England. was in no position to tisk another

encounter with him. It was preferable to gamble on his remaining peaceful if he

t N ZPD 1 87 2 xiii pp47 1 -77 : AJHR 1 87 3 C4a pp l -2 : AJH R 1 880 G2 ppxi ii .xvi i .36-3 8 : AJH R 1 8 8 2 G5a p2 .

2 _{AJH R 1 8 8 0 G2 pxvi i .}

3 · . . . not one of these pakehas can name the day when we . . . s ued for peace . The most that can be said is that on such and such a date we left off fighti ng· : Kowhai N g u tu Kaka as told to Thomas McDo n n el l . · A Maori History: Being a Native Account of the Pakeha-rvlaori Wars i n New Zeala nd · . in Gudgeon Defenders p55 5 . Kowhai Ngutu Kaka \.vas probably an i nvention of McDon nel l ' s : Belich fn i O p36 7 .

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was petmitted to return to his ancestral lands from his exile with N gatimaru . and then to attempt to buy his cooperation .

Over the years a succession of native ministers issued instructions to Robert Panis. the civil commissioner for Taranaki . wi th regard to the settlement of the confiscated lands. FitzG eralcl " s instructions of 1 8 65 _{to negotiate with all the Maori of the}

Taranaki disttict and persuade them 'to come in at once and accept defined blocks of land within the confiscated territory · were followed in 1 8 6 6 _{by those of}

J . C . Richmond. head of the N ative Department in the S tafford government . who i nstructed Panis to induce absentee owners of N gatiruanui and Ngatiawa to abandon their claims in return for reserves and monetary payment. and to settle the claims of loyal M ami and make reserves for sutTendered rebels to the not1h of the Pat ea river. H e was to settl e the claims in ' the rest of the N gatiawa Coast Block' by leaving all the land of the Taranaki chiefs Wi Kingi Matakatea and Arama Km·aka. ' almost the only loyal men · in their area. and by making reserves of up to fifty acres per head including ' kaingas . fishing stations and any other favourite spots· for sutTendeting rebels .4

The settlement of the west coast confiscated l ands was seen as the key to peace and prosperi ty in the area. so again in 1 8 72 _{instructions were issued to Panis . this time} by McLean who differentiated between the lands no11h of the Waingon goro and those south of i t . A start h ad been made south of the 1iver on allotting l ands to military settlers and reserves to the local tribes . but awards of the Compensation Colll1 still had not been defined. North of the tiver it was quite another matter and in this regard McLean made his famous statement that the ' lands not1h of

Waingongoro . as far as Stoney River. although nominally confiscated. are . with the exception of I AOO acres at Opunake . quite unavailabl e for settlement . until

atTangements are made with the Natives for lands sufficient for their own

requirements · . Pan·is was to begin negotiations with Maori owners in the vicinity of the Oeo river and so that the l ands might be free from 'al l difficulties and

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obstruction s · he was to pay them compensation ·at rates not exceeding Ss. per acre for all lands they might care to · relinquish ' .5 Despite al l the earlier protestations that confiscation was in no way abhorrent to the Maori. M clean admitted it to h ave been a very sore point with them . so much so that he had · refrained from enteri n g u pon t h e subject ' not wishing t o ' open old \vounds wi thout t h e means of healing them · . 6 The long promised reserves and a little compensation were to be the salve

with which to dress the wounds .

I n 1 8 76 M c lean updated these instructions for Charles Brown . who in July 1 8 75 h ad taken over from Panis as civil commissioner for Taranaki . and info1med him that not only had the Maori ' fai led to recognize the reality of confiscation · but they had even got an inflated view of the value of thei r lands. Brown was now

autho rized to pay up to 7s 6d an acre but warned that · everything like extravagant concession . . . should be carefully avoided' lest those who had lost lands south of the Wain gongoro should become dissatisfied . 7 I t was vitally i mpo11ant for the

government to ·acqui re · the Waimate plains for settlem en t . I t was eleven years since t hey had been confiscated - on paper. but the M aoii cared little for the pakeha · s pukapuka. Since there had been no action on the ground and they were now being offered money to ' relinquish · their land. it is hardly surprising they did not recognize the reali ty of the confiscation . Many times over the years politicians lamented that the confiscation was a disaster and had cost the colony far more in blood . anguish and money than it would ever have cost simply to buy the land . and Mclean himself declared the confiscated lands to have been a very expensive l uxury · . x

M eanwhile the belief had grown amongst the west coast tribes that their land was to be restored to them . So fervently had they wished this that they now became

5 AJHR 1 87 2 C4 pp26-27 . · south of the Stoney River. and betvveen it and the Wai ngongoro . a small block at Opunake. conta i n i ng 1 .400 acres . is the only land over which the Government can exercise any right: the remain i n g part has either been allotted to or is claimed by Natives · : McLean to Moorhouse . Secretary for C rown Lands . 1 2 Feb 1 87 2 . ibid p29 .

6 N ZPD 1 87 2 x i i p640 . i AJHR 1 87 9 AS p6 .

x NZPD 1 8 7 2 x i i p639 . See also Rol lesto n . ibid 1 879 xxxi p90 : · .. . the pol icy of

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convinced it was so. But in reply to a proposal to this effect. put to the H ouse in July 1 8 72 by Wi Parata. member for Western Maori , McLean declared that 'the lands which h ad been confiscated after due proclamation by the Governor could not be restored· . 9 Then on 5 September 1 872 i n the debate which brought the Fox government down . Stafford expressed the view that the best thing the govern ment could do with the as yet unalienated confiscated lands would be to divide them among 'the Natives who . after fair investi gation . may be found to have an interest in them ' ; not. he added . 'in answer to any demand of the Natives . but as an act of grace and as an act of policy ' . 10 This was enough for Wi Parata who informed the west coast t1ibes that now there was a new government who would restore pa11 of their confiscated lands to them . ' From Waingongoro . . . to Taranaki is in reality returned to the Maoris - this is quite decidecl ' . 1 1 A month later though . in his biief reign as p remier and native minister the same Stafford declared it was ·not the intention of the Government to abandon the confiscated lands at all · . Fox . now safely in o pposition. and Kel ly. MHR for New Plymout h . needled Stafford with questions on his intentions with regard to these lands but Stafford declined to comm i t the government ' to any specific action · . Kell y kept up the pressure and moved that the government act on the recommendation of the Native Affairs Committee and restore the as yet unalienated lands to those owners who had remained loyaL or who having rebelled had returned to their loyalty . 12 Stafford assured h i m it was exactly the govemmen t ' s intention to restore to the vatious hapu some lan d . but not necessatily that which they had lost . 1 3

This news was soon known on the coast . but within clays another ministry had fal len and another promise was broken . Once again ·sound principle was sacrificed to political expediency' and the Maori were left more frustrated than before . Wi

9 NZPD 1 87 2 x i i p l 6 7 .

10 N Z PD 1 8 7 2 x i i i p 1 54 .

1 1 Wi Parata t o .McDonnell 1 2 Sept 1 87 2 . AJ H R 1 8 80 G 2 App A p6 .

1 2 · ... where i t is fou nd to be the case that tribes h ave not been actively engaged i n warfare against

the Quee n . or having been engaged have retu rned to their loyalty. the lands wh ich have been taken from the m . if not otherwise disposed of. should be restored to the Native owners · : Reports of Select Com m i ttee on Native Affairs . no7 . 25 Sept 1 87 2 . AJHR 1 872 H I I p4 .

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Parata reported the tribes anxious to know 'what was to become of them : whether they were to be well or badly treated; whether they were to exist or not " . 1 4

Te Whiti also wanted the situation clarified . 1 5 He and Tohu. a fellow chief and a close relative. had never borne arms against the Queen . 10 They were both deeply spilitual men and mission educated. having studied and worked under the Lutheran missionary Riemenschneider who established h imself at Warea. on the Taranak.i coast . in 1 84 6 . 1 7 _{In about} 1 8 6 6 _{they moved inland and settled at Parihaka. 1 i:{}

apparently with the aim o f distancing themselves from European contact and from association with warlike groups of Maori . They soon gathered about them local Maoti whose land had been confiscated and those who wished to have no part of Titokowaru · s war. From as early as 1 8 6 9 _{Te Whiti was being seen by Europeans as}

a force to be reckoned wi th on the west coast. Initially Europeans took less notice of Tohu and it was some years before his name began to appear in official

documents . 1 9 When it did he was often referred to as Te Whiti ·s lieutenant or fellow prophet . According to those who acted as interpreters for Captain Knollys. Governor Gordon ·s aide de camp . Tohu described h imself as Te Whiti ·s ·associate

14 ibid p47 1 .

15 There is a s uggestion that h e was prepared to use Hone Mohi Tawhai as a m ediator between h imself and the government: AJH R 1 8 80 Gl pxi x . The only correspondence concerning the ' messenger sent by Te W h iti . that has survived suggests simply that Te Whiti i nvited Ngapu h i to the March 1 87 2 h u i at Parihaka : McLean to Tawhai 30 March 1 87 2 . MA 4/7 8 . It seems u n l i kely that Te Whiti should su rrender his mana by as king either Ta\.\:hai or Ngap u h i to act as a mediator for h i m . I n any case the government was not prepared to recogn ize his mana by negotiatin g with h i m .

1 6 For conflicting v iews ·on this question see Pan· i s report 2 3 March 1 870. AJH R 1 870 A 1 6 p 1 8 : ' Te Whiti i s one of the few who never embraced Hauhauism ·: Bowen despatch 6 Oct 1 8 70.

AJHR 1 87 1 A l p50 : ' Te Whiti . . . now professes . . . to be a prophet of the Hauhau creed· : West Coast Com m issioners· statement. AJHR 1 880 G2 pvi i i : · . . . men l i ke Te Whiti . . . who ne,·er were in arms against the Q ueen · : Hadfield to Gordon 1 2 Nov 1 8 8 1 . AJHR 1 8 8 8 A I p3 : ' Neither he nor Toh u nor any of h is people. about 250. i ncluding women and children . ever took part i n the rebel l i�n · . Cowan · s i n formant Te Kahu Pu koro as a twelve year old boy saw Te Whiti and Toh u at Sentry H i l l . but they carried tokotoko. not guns: Cowan Wars p23 .

t 7 William G reenwood . Riemenschneider of Warea. Welli ngto n . 1 96 7 . pp6 . 1 8 . t R Hadfield to Gordon 1 2 Nov 1 88 1 . AJHR 1 8 8 8 A I p3 .

19 Eu ropean perceptions of individual Maori had a lot to do with appearances . Te W h iti was described as having · al most European featu res · . l i ke those of a hal f caste or a Spaniard. and he was compared favourably with the darker skin ned Toh u : Rusden � vol Ill p240 : Bryant exten ded essay pp33-J4. Even so . to the settler mind at least. there was little to choose between one Maori and another and by popular reasoning Te Whiti was associated with Toh u . who was someti mes con fused with Titokowaru . whose exploits were equated with those of Te Kooti .

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and equaL 20 In December 1 8 68 _{Pan·is reported visiting ' Pariaka. the place where}

the Warea Natives under the young chief Te Whiti all reside · . This was his fi rst meeting with the Warea people since war had broken out in I 860 . 2 1 _{and i t took}

place just when the threat from Titokowaru was at i ts height. 22 The following year he reported to McLean that the natives l iving between Umuroa and Waingongoro had agreed to open the roacl23 and commence flax operations . but that nothing could be done with 'the Warea Natives without going to Pariaka · . This he was loath to do because some of Titokowaru · s fol lowers were there. 24 Panis would have done better to encourage them to be at Parihaka wi th Te Whiti than in the bush with Titokowaru . but that would have involved acknowledging Te Whiti ·s mana. and this he would not do .

The March 1 8 70 _{meeting at Paiihaka attracted over five hundred visitors from all}

the tribes between Whi te Cliffs and the Waingon goro and even a 'deputation . . . from Tokangamutu ' . Tawhiao ·s headquarters in the King Country. Panis went to the meeting hoping to ' reconcile Te Whiti 's party to the necessity for the road to be taken through their distiict ' and to persuade them not only to agree to the road but to work on it themselves as the followers of other chiefs such as Matakatea. Pihama and M anaia. were doing. Te Whiti knew full well that road making was but the