Russell Stone: This city's future can't be built on myths

Dr Healy in common with Ngati Whatua advocates has put forward the notion that in 1840 the paramount chief Apihai Te Kawau "gave" to the Crown the "three thousand acres more or less" on which the heart of the city of Auckland now stands. That the consideration for the transfer in the form of gold sovereigns and goods was scandalously low - in keeping incidentally with most land dealings between Maori and Pakeha buyers in those times - cannot be denied.
In his book of the early days, Poenamo, John Logan Campbell recounts how when he met Apihai in late 1840, the chief jingled in a blanket of the sovereigns he had received from the Crown agent as a result of the initial sale and said "te utu mo te whenua" (The payment for the land). I am concerned that the myth that Apihai actually gave ("tuku") that land has been so often repeated that the legend is likely to become established fact.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/irussell-stonei-this-citys-future-cant-be-built-on-myths/4OJZZEDORVEISL5KQRWJOWTU44/

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