What happened at Parihaka

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• What happened at Parihaka

The New Zealand Wars A History of the Maori
Campaigns and the Pioneering Period Volume II
The Hauhau Wars, 186472. Author James Cowan,
F.R.G.S. Image New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
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Introduction

• In the decade or so after the South Taranaki
  Wars, the Government passed a number of laws
  making it difficult for Maori to access their
  land.
• By far the most damaging was the confiscation of
  most of Taranaki, as a punishment to those who
  had rebelled against the Government.
• Look carefully at the black line of confiscation
  that cuts through the tribal boundaries.

Map showing iwi boundaries and the confiscation
line. From The Taranaki Report to the Waitangi
Tribunal, 1996
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Introduction

• South Taranaki had been far from peace.
• Many kainga and pa had been raided and many Maori
  leaders and warriors had been killed or were
  displaced.
• A new movement was stirring

Armed Constabulary, New Plymouth (circa 1870s).
William Andrews Collis Printing-out paper print.
Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A95.506)
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Go, put your hands to the plough If any come
with guns and swords, be not afraid. If they
smite you, smite not in return Another will
take up the good work
Te Whiti, the Maori Prophet of Parihaka
addressing the meeting - 17th (his 18th) Jan
1880 (circa 1880) Unknown photographer, William
Francis Gordon Reproduction of albumen print
(taken of original sketch) Collection of Puke
Ariki, New Plymouth (PHO2003-841)
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A veto on violence

• Towards the end of the South Taranaki Wars, a new
  passive resistance movement emerged its
  headquarters were at a West Taranaki village
  named Parihaka.
• The founders were Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu
  Kakahi, two men who based their pacifist beliefs
  on traditional values mixed with some
  Christianity. They sought to resolve land issues
  without physical violence, and built Parihaka and
  its farms on land the Government had seized but
  wasnt using.

Photograph of Te Whitis son, Nohomairangi, his
family, and his house at Parihaka. By W.A.
Collis. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth
(PHO2008-1905)
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Growing popularity
Te Whiti and Tohus teachings grew influential
throughout Taranaki and beyond, and by 1870
Parihaka was the largest Maori village in the
country. For nearly a decade it thrived,
productive and self-sufficient.
Part One of Parihaka Panorama (November
1881) William Andrews Collis Albumen print (two
part panorama) Collection of Puke Ariki, New
Plymouth (A64.076)
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Growing popularity
This image depicts some of the whares of
Parihaka.
Part Two of Parihaka Panorama (November
1881) William Andrews Collis Albumen print (two
part panorama) Collection of Puke Ariki, New
Plymouth (A64.092)
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Land surveying begins
In 1879, the Government decided it was time to
open up nearby seized land on the Waimate Plains
(West Taranaki) to British settlement. In
preparation, they began to survey it.
What does Belich call this process?
Stuart Newells survey field book contains
details of land features, locations of peach
trees, Te Whiti's clearing, Pungarehu village and
redoubts that were present along the road he was
surveying prior to the invasion of
Parihaka. Survey Book (1880) Stuart Newall.
Survey book, Collection of Puke Ariki, New
Plymouth (ARC2002-299).
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Pegs, ploughs and protest

• The people of Parihaka removed survey pegs and
  ploughed the land. Maori from far and wide
  travelled to help.
• Government officials arrested and imprisoned the
  ploughmen again and again. Each time, more went
  out. The Government passed new laws that allowed
  imprisonment without trial, and soon prisons were
  filled with the Parihaka protestors.

Examples of Acts 1863 New Zealand Settlement
Act Sets up land confiscations where Maori were
said to be in rebellion. 1865 Native Land
Act Anyone can apply for a land title which must
be heard in a land court. If the Maori doesnt
appear, title goes to a European.
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Pegs, ploughs and protest
Now the Government began to push roads through
the Parihaka cultivations. When the Parihaka
protestors built fences across the roads, the
Governments army destroyed the fences and
arrested still more people.
Waimate Plains. Plan illustrating Report of Royal
Commission (1880) J M Kemp. Re-drawn by F Coleman
(1937). Pen, ink and watercolour on
paper Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth
(ARC2005-18) Map of the Waimate Plains on the
Southern side of Mt Taranaki. The map also shows
the Maori settlements tucked along the bush line.
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The final invasion

• On 5 November 1881 a Government force of 1,589
  Armed Constabulary and volunteers, led by
  Lieutenant Colonel J. M. Roberts and John Bryce
  invaded Parihaka.
• The Taranaki Report says, reports eventually
  revealed that Parihaka had been taken without
  resistance that it was completely broken up
  that about 1500 men, women, and children had been
  arrested and that six were imprisoned, including
  Te Whiti and Tohu .

John Bryce Image Wikimedia Commons
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Images of a fuller picture escaped later
images of assaults rape looting pillage
theft the destruction of homes the burning of
crops the forced relocation of 1556 persons
without money, food, or shelter the introduction
of passes for Maori to facilitate the militarys
control of movements in the area and the
suspension of trials and other legal safeguards
when it appeared that lawful convictions might
not be achieved. From chapter 8 of the
Taranaki Report to the Waitangi Tribunal, 1996
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A fuller picture emerges
The New Zealand Wars A History of the Maori
Campaigns and the Pioneering Period Volume II
The Hauhau Wars, 186472. Author James Cowan,
F.R.G.S. Image New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
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Parihaka surrounded
Photograph of Parihaka .View of the military
camps in the background - from left to right
Fort Rolleston, Armed Constabulary Camp and
Nelson Camp. The tents and other buildings of
these camps can be seen on the hills in the
background. Thatched houses and fences in the
foreground. William Andrews Collis. Albumen
print Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth,
(PHO2008-1877)
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The trial
The leaders of Parihaka were taken away as
prisoners. This image is a sketch by Mr. G.
Sherriff, 1881. from The New Zealand Wars A
History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering
Period Volume II The Hauhau Wars, (186472), by
James Cowan, 1956. (NZETC)
Tohu Kakahi After Arrest at Parihaka
"Most of them were powerfully built young or
middle-aged men, and, judging from their
appearance and calm self-possessed demeanour, it
is impossible to come to any other conclusion
than that had they been ordered by their prophet,
Te Whiti, to fight instead of to surrender, they
would not easily have been conquered. (Otago
Whitness, quoted in Jane Reeves, "Exiled for a
Cause)
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Te Whiti leaving Parihaka under arrest, 5
November, 1881. Source G. Sherriff, Wikimedia
Commons
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The Wars long legacy

• The invasion marked the end of the military
  action in Taranaki. Maori were outnumbered. The
  new Pakeha Government effectively ruled most
  areas of the country, and through its war-time
  actions had shown it could use force to keep it
  that way.
• The wars legacy was felt for generations, and is
  with us today. In Taranaki and elsewhere you will
  find it in our law, our health, our education,
  our economy and more.

It has been called The Never-Ending War
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References

• The Taranaki Report Kaupapa Tuatahi, accessed
  from www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz
• Taranaki War 1860-2010 Te Ahi Ka Roa, Te Ahi
  Katoro, exhibition notes, Puke Ariki Museum, New
  Plymouth.