History Ngāi Tūhoe

1 history

1.1 19th century
1.2 1916 police raid
1.3 twentieth century
1.4 late 20th , 21st century
1.5 2007 police raid
1.6 waitangi settlement

history
19th century

tūhoe had little direct contact european settlers. first major contact occurred when iwi fought against settler government in battle of Ōrākau in 1864. rewi maniapoto, had tribal links tūhoe, visited urewera in 1862 , persuaded them take part in rebellion against government; went against wishes of of elders. reluctant, tūhoe gave rewi ammunition rebellion. during cease fire in battle of orakau, under flag of truce, gilbert mair, translator, shot in shoulder tūhoe warrior. tūhoe @ battle killed.

the following year authorities accused tūhoe of sheltering kereopa te rau, hau hau wanted killing , beheading karl volkner, missionary of church missionary society, in called volkner incident. tūhoe had cooperated in tracking down hau hau leader , had taken him prisoner. tūhoe tried use him bargaining chip government demanded te rau handed on trial. after tūhoe released him, te rau hid in ureweras . punishment, in 1866 government confiscated 5700ha or 7% of tūhoe land on northern coastal border. confiscated tūhoe land adjoined land confiscated bay of plenty rebels after battle of gate pā. crown took tūhoe s substantial flat, fertile land, provided access coast kai moana (sea food). tūhoe people retained interior, more difficult land, setting scene later famines.

in 1868, tūhoe sheltered māori leader te kooti, fugitive had escaped imprisonment on chatham islands. te kooti arrived in area large group of escaped convicts, armed modern weapons had stolen ship had hijacked. doubtful tūhoe have resisted demands sanctuary. tūhoe joined armed ringatū band, other tūhoe told government forces of te kooti s whereabouts. joined armed forces hunt him down. government forces punished tūhoe supported te kooti during manhunt. te ara, online encyclopedia of new zealand, notes:

old enemies of tūhoe fought on side of government; carried out of raids te urewera during prolonged , destructive search between 1869 , 1872. in policy aimed @ turning tribe away te kooti, scorched earth campaign unleashed against tūhoe; people imprisoned , killed, cultivations , homes destroyed, , stock killed or run off. through starvation, deprivation , atrocities @ hands of government’s māori forces, tūhoe submitted crown.

te kooti himself escaped king country, , after events surrounding hunt him, tūhoe isolated themselves, closing off access lands refusing sell, lease or survey them, , blocking building of roads.

twenty years later, te urewera leaders, premier seddon, , native affairs minister timi (james) carroll negotiated 1896 urewera district native reserve act (udnr). provided tūhoe self-government through general committee , local committees, native land court excluded , titles determined instead commission comprising 2 pākehā , 5 tūhoe commissioners. in practice however, crown through mixture of ineptitude , bad-faith ...totally failed give effect promises in udnr act; failed act fairly, reasonably, , honourably...and failed protect treaty rights of peoples of te urewera...

1916 police raid

the settlement of maungapohatu in 1908



tūhoe prophet rua kenana in 1908

historian jamie belich describes urewera 1 of last zones of māori autonomy, , scene of last case of armed māori resistance: 1916 new zealand police raid arrest tūhoe prophet rua kenana.

on 2 april 1916 70-strong, , heavily armed, police party arrived @ maungapohatu arrest him sedition. because rua s village remote, police had take lot of equipment , camped on way. moved small army wagons , pack-horses, , included new zealand herald photographer arthur breckon. not alert maungapohatu village of intention spring attack did not wear police uniforms till before raid. convinced when reached maungapohatu there ambush.

there no violent resistance rua personally, supporters fought brisk half-hour gun battle police in 2 māori, including rua s son toko, killed , 2 wounded. 4 constables wounded. rua arrested , transported rotorua, hair , beard removed. rotorua, 6 other māori prisoners including whatu, rua transferred auckland , sent directly mount eden prison. rua held, @ first, on 9 months sentence imposed 1915 charges , increased default of fines. after trial on sedition lasted 47 days, new zealand s longest until 1977, found not guilty; sentenced 1 year s imprisonment resisting police.

twentieth century

significant european penetration did not occur in urewera district until 20th century. road built government rotorua ruatahuna in 1901 end isolation of tūhoe opening first motor road.

tūhoe did realise, in great depression, develop local economy needed roads outside world. donated land road rights of way. 1906, tūhoe had given land roads , offered free labour assist in construction, building arterial roads in ureweras had low government priority. in 1900s traces of gold found in ureweras , rua te kanana tried sell illegal mining rights raise money. @ same time rua wished sell large areas of land government raise funds new jerusalem, despite having petition signed every tūhoe adult, government insisted stick law.

in 1920s gordon coates, minister of public works, went area check suitability railway , discuss roads. land steep poverty bay herald describing gradient 1 in nothing . coates knew time, tūhoe refused make contribution road @ all. mountainous terrain daunting farming. tūhoe not accumulate capital develop land had cleared 1907. instead sold sheep , cattle pay legal costs. these debts not paid until 1931.

in 1930s government helped develop tūhoe land @ both ruatoki , ruatahuna. understood that, many new zealanders in great depression, tūhoe had hard times. in 1934 teacher wrote have no money apart given government family allowances , old age pensions . 1936 report noted land development @ maungapohatu mountain (a ringatu stronghold) social success if undertaken . report pointed out venture fail if tūhoe required pay both interest , capital. in 1937, after several other studies, government decided uneconomic invest in roads or settlements. time, isolated maungapohatu settlement had collapsed anyway.

late 20th , 21st century

the tūhoe population small , living conditions poor. school records 1920s , 1930s show high death rates, of children. 75% of died people under 25. main causes of death infectious diseases, such influenza, gastroenteritis, typhoid fever , whooping cough. between 1924 , 1936, depression period, 57 people died in community of 30 families.

from late 1990s, tūhoe started identifying tūhoe nation , , emphasising widespread tūhoe rejection of call pākehā rule. said because never signed treaty of waitangi, never gave sovereignty.

tūhoe , other local iwi brought urewera claim waitangi tribunal in 2002, submissions accepted until 2005.

2007 police raid

there major armed-police raid in ureweras on 15 october 2007 amid claims tūhoe had run terrorist training-camps there. roadblocks set between ruatoki , taneatua armed police, searched , questioned passed through, including school bus, , locals said felt intimidated.

no terrorism charges laid, , police commissioner howard broad later publicly apologised actions of officers during raid, acknowledging had set relations between police , tūhoe people: regret hurt , stress caused community of ruatoki , seek appropriate way repair damage done police-maori relations. history tells episodes such can , take decades heal. 2013 ipca review found ...police searches, vehicle stops, roadblocks , photographs taken in tuhoe country on october 15, 2007, unlawful, unjustified , unreasonable.

waitangi settlement

a final settlement signed in june 2013, after being ratified tūhoe members. under deal, tūhoe received financial, commercial , cultural redress valued @ approximately $170 million; historical account , crown apology; , co-governance of te urewera lands. put law passing of tūhoe claims settlement act 2014 .