Michael King (NZ historian)

“In the first half of the nineteenth century, however, individual iwi considered carrying their martial culture beyond the shores of New Zealand. At least three expeditions of conquest were planned: to Samoa, to Norfolk Island, and to the Chatham Islands, which did not become part of New Zealand until 1842. All these proposed expeditions were dependent on finding transport to those places: and that meant finding a European ship’s captain whose vessel was available for charter; or it meant Maori commandeering a vessel for the purpose.
In the event there were no expeditions to Norfolk Island or to Samoa because the necessary transport was not secured. But there was an invasion of the Chathams Islands. Two Taranaki tribes then based in Wellington, Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutunga ki Poneke, hijacked a European vessel in 1835 and had themselves—a total of 900 people—delivered to Chatham Islands. There they takahi’d or walked the land to claim it; ritually killed around 300 Chatham Moriori out of a total of around 1600, and enslaved the survivors—separating husbands from wives, parents from children, forbidding them to speak their own language or practise their own customs, and forcing them to violate the tapus of their culture, whose mana was based on the rejection of violence.
Was this a superior form of colonisation to that imposed by European on Maori? Did it respect the dignity and customs of the colonised? Did it acknowledge the mana whenua of the tchakat henu or indigenous people of the Chathams? It did not. It was what might now be called an exercise in ethnic cleansing. When Bishop Selwyn arrived in the islands in 1848, it was to discover that the Maori called Moriori “Paraiwhara” or “Blackfellas”; and it was to report that the Moriori population continued to decline at a suicidal rate as a consequence of kongenge or despair. Moriori slaves were not released and New Zealand law was not established on the islands until 1862, twenty years after they had become part of New Zealand. And it is that twenty years of neglect of fiduciary duty on the part of the Crown that is the basis for the Moriori claim to the Waitangi Tribunal, heard in 1994, but still not reported upon.”

Michael King OBE (15 December 1945 – 30 March 2004) was a New Zealand popular historian, author, and biographer. He wrote or edited over 30 books on New Zealand topics, including the best-selling Penguin History of New Zealand, which was the most popular New Zealand book of 2004.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_King

Popular posts from this blog

Te Rauparaha Sacked Kaikai-a-waro (Kaiapoi Pa) 1831

In 1700, a great migration of the Ngai Tahu came down from the North Island, under Chief Tu Rakautohi. In celebration, his little brother Moki, built a Pa which Tu Rakautohi named Kaikai-a-waro. We now call this surrounding area Kaiapoi. It was soon regarded as the largest and safest stronghold of the Ngai Tahu in the South Island. The population reached 1000 people at the time history began to be recorded. In 1828, Ngati Toa Chief, Te Rauparaha appeared at the Kaitangata Gate of the Pa, claiming to be a greenstone trader. With him were 8 fellow tribesmen of Ngati Toa. Seeing that the Pa’s of Kaikoura and Omihi had just been attacked, those of the Kaiapoi Pa were naturally weary of strangers. After what could have been a few awkward moments, the Ngai Tahu suddenly welcomed the party into the Pa. https://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/te-rauparaha-sacked-kaikai-a-waro-kaiapoi-pa-1831/
Read more

Sir Apirana Ngata’s Speech at the Centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi, 1940

Sir Apirana Ngata (Ngati Porou) delivered a strong message to Pakeha New Zealand 75 years ago this Friday, when he spoke at the 1940 Treaty Centennial celebrations at Waitangi. The original recording of his speech, outlining Maori grievances and calling for greater Pakeha understanding, is held in the radio collection of Nga Taonga Sound & Vision. The 1940 centenary marked 100 years since the signing of the Treaty and despite taking place in the midst of World War II, it was celebrated by events around the country, including the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington. Sir Apirana Ngata speech 5.40 min recorded mark; ‘What is there in the treaty that the Maori can, celebrate whole heartedly with you. Let me say one thing, throughout the treaty, Maori handed over the mana and sovereignty of New Zealand to Queen Victoria and her descendants forever. That is the outstanding fact today, but if it not for the seal of sovereignty handed over to her Majesty and her descendants, I doubt whethe...
Read more