The outbreak of war in Taranaki in 1860 that affected Ngati Mutunga followed disputed land purchases by the Crown of large areas of Te Atiawa and Taranaki Iwi land in North and Central Taranaki. The Crown had failed to obtain the general agreement of the Rangatira and hapu concerned, and strongly expressed opposition by some hapu members to the sales was ignored by the Crown.
From the late 1840s, as pressures to accommodate settlers on land mounted, Taranaki Maori opposition to sales north and south of New Plymouth became more evident. The flashpoint for the wars in Taranaki was the Crown's purchase of lands at Waitara. The prevention of the survey of this block by unarmed Maori was viewed as rebellion by the Crown, and it proclaimed martial law throughout Taranaki. War finally broke out when the Crown attacked the pa of Wiremu Kingi and his supporters which had been built on the Waitara block.
While the Crown subsequently renounced the Waitara purchase, it was too late to halt the continuing conflict and the Crown continued armed campaigns in Taranaki until 1869. Conflict also spread to other parts of the Central North Island.
Under the New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863 the Crown confiscated all the land (75,000 acres/27,700 hectares) within the rohe of Ngati Mutunga. Confiscations were indiscriminate with land being taken from "rebels" and "loyals" alike.
Subsequent redress through the compensation provisions of the NZ Settlements Act and the West Coast Commissions resulted in the award of meagre entitlements of poor quality land. Very few awards were properly implemented and customary forms of tenure were ignored in the awards, almost all of which were made to individuals.
Between 1872 and 1881, the Crown purchased substantial areas of land in the rohe of Ngati Mutunga. All of the land involved had been confiscated, giving rise to doubt as to whether the confiscation was still in force. In such circumstances Ngati Mutunga could not be confident that they would retain land if they refused to sell it. The execution of these purchases was further flawed in that the Crown failed to investigate customary title, the negotiations were not conducted openly, and minimal consideration was paid to vendors.
Acts of passive resistance to the confiscations by the ploughmen and fencers organised by Te Whiti and Tohu were followed by the invasion of Parihaka in the Taranaki iwi rohe by an armed force of almost 1600 in 1881. More than 1500 men, women and children were arrested, crops were burnt and homes destroyed. Ngati Mutunga was also adversely affected by this conflict.
Reserves allocated to Maori were placed under the control of the Public Trustee and a large portion of this land was subject to perpetually renewable leases to settlers without the consent of owners. By 1974 more than 63% of the reserved land vested in the Public Trustee had been sold.
A subsequent investigation of the confiscations by the Sim Commission of 1926-27 was limited and did not fully investigate the return of land, wahi tapu and other taonga. The Commission recommended an annuity of 5000 pounds to compensate all Taranaki iwi for the confiscations. A sum of 300 pounds was paid to compensate for loss of property at Parihaka. These payments were not discussed with iwi, nor did they accept them as adequate. Sums due in the early 1930s were not fully paid.
The compensation was enshrined in the Taranaki Maori Claims Settlement Act 1944 which states that Maori had agreed to accept the sums as full settlement for the confiscations and the actions of the Crown at Parihaka. There is no evidence iwi agreed to this and the settlement sums, as with the rents on reserved lands, were not protected from the effects of inflation.
ENDS
