Consequences of the Invasion
Short-term Consequences
A short-term consequence following the invasion was the sacking of the settlement, by governmental troops, known as the ‘plunder’ of Parihaka.
Known to Maori as the ‘Plunder of Parihaka’, this included immediate actions of destruction of crops, gardens and houses by colonial militia as a form of subjugation on Maori. This destruction and further military occupation caused many Parihaka Maori to leave the community. The dispersal of Parihaka Maori had a profound impact as they belonged to a pan-tribal community. Gilbert Mair, who set to crush the resistance efforts of Te Kooti Arikirangi in 1869, recalled ‘there was no end to taonga in the pa’. Troops set about to ransack this taonga and, in the perspective of Maori, effectively destroyed the mana of the settlement due to the loss of this. With many prominent community figures, including Te Whiti and Tohu, facing harsh sentences imposed by the government; most often they were faced with imprisonment. In accordance with Bryce’s wishes, accompanied by that of the government, military personnel undertook the task of ruining the Parihaka settlement. It has been reported that houses were burned, crop fields were destroyed and it has been said on the occurrence of rape. Te Whiti and Tohu were transferred to Addington goal in Christchurch were they were indefinitely imprisoned in May after the introduction of the West Coast Peace Preservation Act 1882. From July 1882, Te Whiti and Tohu were placed under house arrest in Nelson. Immediately following the invasion, newspaper reports supported both Pakeha and Maori opinion on the attack and voiced the grievances felt by Maori. However by the election of 1881, the topic of Parihaka had already disappeared from the news. This reveals public opinion of the time following the Invasion. Many did not think that Invasion was of significance and as a result, failed to understand the grievances felt by Maori. Some settlers decided to stay at the settlement in the hope of the return of the two prophetic leaders, however with the loss of food supplies and a strong leadership to continue on the legacy of Te Whiti and Tohu, many Maori were evicted by force to seek homes elsewhere. Pakeha thought that they had broken the spirit of the Maori and had achieved their intention of teaching Maori submission and obedience to European ways. Instead, they had inflamed the spirit of Taranaki Maori to continue living a life in reflection of the values Te Whiti and Tohu had instilled in them such as passive resistance.
The introduction of military occupation and punitive legislation on the Parihaka community became a short-term consequence, politically oppressing Parihaka Maori.
Such actions lasted for five years following the 1881 Invasion of Parihaka. The set up of military checkpoints placed in and around the settlement with Armed Constabulary remaining in the area was used to enforce a series of successive laws. Additionally, no Maori were to travel to or from the Taranaki region without a pass and gatherings, with over 50 Maori were banned. The legalization of the West Coast Peace Preservation Act (May 1882) allowed for the indefinite imprisonment without trail of Te Whiti and Tohu and other Parihaka Maori, fuelling a passionate sense of injustice. The 1882 Indemnity Act was introduced to be used as a legal immunity to Pakeha soldiers involved in the Invasion. Through this act, those involved Pakeha were indemnified on the grounds that the actions of the Armed Constabulary and volunteers were in the interest of peace and any punishment was deemed unjustifiable under this act.
These short-term consequences transpired into long-term consequences as Maori lost control over land reserves as further land confiscations occurred.
Maori land was entrusted into the Public (Native) Trust as Maori Reserves in 1883. This land became available for Pakeha settlers to lease in 30-year lease periods. Further legislations over land leases were introduced through the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act of 1892 where renewable leases of over 200,000 acres of Maori land became available. In protest of this land action, Maori continued to plough settler’s land. As a result 92 Maori, in 1897, were arrested. This protest was due to the unresolved grievances over the Native Trustee’s management of the leases. During this, Maori continued to refuse the acceptance of a rental income. The demise of the community was the result of this and was also a long term cause of the Invasion. With less jobs on offer, due to the loss of land and land viable jobs, Parihaka Maori became jobless and the continuity of the settlement began to disintegrate.
Their sense of injustice grew as a result of the Invasion and this inspired Maori to carry out new campaigns, voicing their grievances felt due to the Invasion. This was a short-term consequence.
After Te Whiti and Tohu were released in 1884, they began to campaign over the loss of their land known as The Marching Campaign. Large protest marches were undertaken as a result and in August 1884, Parihaka Maori travelled to other Taranaki settlements in a symbolic effort to proclaim the rights to their land. Another campaign, known as the Whare Building Campaign, was instigated under the two prophetic leaders where they built and set up thatched huts in settler farms. This was seen as a symbol of ownership. In 1898, the government imposed a tax on each dog of 2/6d (two shillings and six dimes), which was met with heavy refusal by Maori at Parihaka. The government reacted heavy-handedly with night raids to arrest Parihaka Maori. Following such campaigns, in combination with the Invasion, Maori continued to hold onto their sense of injustice and frequently spoke out about the treatment of Maori by Pakeha, which continued into the twentieth- century. Parihaka Maori continued to meet on the 18th day of each month to ensure their grievances were remembered. Tekau mā waru (‘The Eighteenth’) were monthly meetings established in 1866 where Pakeha and maori elders were invited to attend issues that felt a sense of injustice about. Discussion over resistance strategies to land ‘grabbing’ and assimilation was also included. It was especially in the 1970s that Maori actively protested and made the general public aware of Maori positioning in society and their sense of grievances, which had been carried with Maori ever since the Invasion of Parihaka. The 1970s were seen as a formative time for modern Maori activism. The key issues in which Maori were protesting was over land, the Treaty of Waitangi, te reo, mana Maori motuhake and tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and the Maori experience of colonization (as seen negatively through the Parihaka Invasion). Aroha Harris, a prominent Maori historian, has written about Maori protest actions (including those undertaken during the Invasion of Parihaka) in her book ‘Hikoi’. She writes on how Maori were influenced by broader historical events and trends, during the 1960s, such as international and local protest over the Vietnam War, the black civil rights movement in the United States, including revolutionary liberation movements like the Black Panther Party which sparked their determination to undertake direct protest action against government policy and to give Maori a voice from the past and to the present. A strong feature of Maori activism, in the second half of the twentieth century, was the contesting and negotiation of the Treaty and the strained relations between Maori and Pakeha. Maori felt that the general public did not hear them and most especially by the government. The Invasion of Parihaka, as seen by Maori, was an example of how the government tried to take away the rights of Maori (destruction of the autonomous settlement) and to contain them as counterparts to the Pakeha race. The idea of Eurocentrism surfaced through this example, which was heavily contested by Maori.
Maori historian, Te Miringa Hohaia, leads a discussion on the meaning and significance of the Tekau mā waru. To listen, Click Here.
Long-term Consequences
The significance of the Invasion is that this caused a legacy to remain for many modern day Maori which would lead to its reassessment in the end of the 20th century. Duly following the invasion, the government held a negative view on the settlement and on Maori, which remained a long-term consequence that is continually reassessed by the Waitangi Tribunal.
In a major report undertaken by the Waitangi Tribunal in 1996, it accounted for the issue of a formal apology, condemnation of the invasion, compensation for land and grievances felt and agreed on the truthfulness of the Maori historical account of the invasion. Accepting that the Maori account of the Invasion was in fact correct diminished the long held negative perspective of Maori, by the government and some Pakeha, which had been held since the invasion and throughout the 20th Century. This became a significant event for Taranaki Maori and Maori of New Zealand as they felt they had gained a placing in society equal to European settlers and New Zealand Pakeha. The claims made by Taranki Maori were perhaps the largest claims received by the Waitangi Tribunal. Further action was taken to amend Maori grievances; between 2001 and 2006, the New Zealand government set about to redress and issue a formal apology to Taranaki tribes that were directly affected by the Invasion. These tribes (iwi) were Ngati Mutunga, Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, Ngati Tama and Ngati Ruanui. The work of the Waitangi Tribunal and the mending of Maori and Pakeha relations became a key focus during the early 2000s and continue on during the 21st century. Maori felt it was also important to remember the peaceful legacy of Te Whiti and Tohu as they led the example that Maori were in fact peaceful peoples and they did not intend to form strained relations between the European settlers. Modern Maori revealed that they did want to have a strong and positive relationship with Pakeha but in order for this to occur, grievances had to be settled with the government and Maori concerns were not only voiced but also heard.
A short-term consequence following the invasion was the sacking of the settlement, by governmental troops, known as the ‘plunder’ of Parihaka.
Known to Maori as the ‘Plunder of Parihaka’, this included immediate actions of destruction of crops, gardens and houses by colonial militia as a form of subjugation on Maori. This destruction and further military occupation caused many Parihaka Maori to leave the community. The dispersal of Parihaka Maori had a profound impact as they belonged to a pan-tribal community. Gilbert Mair, who set to crush the resistance efforts of Te Kooti Arikirangi in 1869, recalled ‘there was no end to taonga in the pa’. Troops set about to ransack this taonga and, in the perspective of Maori, effectively destroyed the mana of the settlement due to the loss of this. With many prominent community figures, including Te Whiti and Tohu, facing harsh sentences imposed by the government; most often they were faced with imprisonment. In accordance with Bryce’s wishes, accompanied by that of the government, military personnel undertook the task of ruining the Parihaka settlement. It has been reported that houses were burned, crop fields were destroyed and it has been said on the occurrence of rape. Te Whiti and Tohu were transferred to Addington goal in Christchurch were they were indefinitely imprisoned in May after the introduction of the West Coast Peace Preservation Act 1882. From July 1882, Te Whiti and Tohu were placed under house arrest in Nelson. Immediately following the invasion, newspaper reports supported both Pakeha and Maori opinion on the attack and voiced the grievances felt by Maori. However by the election of 1881, the topic of Parihaka had already disappeared from the news. This reveals public opinion of the time following the Invasion. Many did not think that Invasion was of significance and as a result, failed to understand the grievances felt by Maori. Some settlers decided to stay at the settlement in the hope of the return of the two prophetic leaders, however with the loss of food supplies and a strong leadership to continue on the legacy of Te Whiti and Tohu, many Maori were evicted by force to seek homes elsewhere. Pakeha thought that they had broken the spirit of the Maori and had achieved their intention of teaching Maori submission and obedience to European ways. Instead, they had inflamed the spirit of Taranaki Maori to continue living a life in reflection of the values Te Whiti and Tohu had instilled in them such as passive resistance.
The introduction of military occupation and punitive legislation on the Parihaka community became a short-term consequence, politically oppressing Parihaka Maori.
Such actions lasted for five years following the 1881 Invasion of Parihaka. The set up of military checkpoints placed in and around the settlement with Armed Constabulary remaining in the area was used to enforce a series of successive laws. Additionally, no Maori were to travel to or from the Taranaki region without a pass and gatherings, with over 50 Maori were banned. The legalization of the West Coast Peace Preservation Act (May 1882) allowed for the indefinite imprisonment without trail of Te Whiti and Tohu and other Parihaka Maori, fuelling a passionate sense of injustice. The 1882 Indemnity Act was introduced to be used as a legal immunity to Pakeha soldiers involved in the Invasion. Through this act, those involved Pakeha were indemnified on the grounds that the actions of the Armed Constabulary and volunteers were in the interest of peace and any punishment was deemed unjustifiable under this act.
These short-term consequences transpired into long-term consequences as Maori lost control over land reserves as further land confiscations occurred.
Maori land was entrusted into the Public (Native) Trust as Maori Reserves in 1883. This land became available for Pakeha settlers to lease in 30-year lease periods. Further legislations over land leases were introduced through the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act of 1892 where renewable leases of over 200,000 acres of Maori land became available. In protest of this land action, Maori continued to plough settler’s land. As a result 92 Maori, in 1897, were arrested. This protest was due to the unresolved grievances over the Native Trustee’s management of the leases. During this, Maori continued to refuse the acceptance of a rental income. The demise of the community was the result of this and was also a long term cause of the Invasion. With less jobs on offer, due to the loss of land and land viable jobs, Parihaka Maori became jobless and the continuity of the settlement began to disintegrate.
Their sense of injustice grew as a result of the Invasion and this inspired Maori to carry out new campaigns, voicing their grievances felt due to the Invasion. This was a short-term consequence.
After Te Whiti and Tohu were released in 1884, they began to campaign over the loss of their land known as The Marching Campaign. Large protest marches were undertaken as a result and in August 1884, Parihaka Maori travelled to other Taranaki settlements in a symbolic effort to proclaim the rights to their land. Another campaign, known as the Whare Building Campaign, was instigated under the two prophetic leaders where they built and set up thatched huts in settler farms. This was seen as a symbol of ownership. In 1898, the government imposed a tax on each dog of 2/6d (two shillings and six dimes), which was met with heavy refusal by Maori at Parihaka. The government reacted heavy-handedly with night raids to arrest Parihaka Maori. Following such campaigns, in combination with the Invasion, Maori continued to hold onto their sense of injustice and frequently spoke out about the treatment of Maori by Pakeha, which continued into the twentieth- century. Parihaka Maori continued to meet on the 18th day of each month to ensure their grievances were remembered. Tekau mā waru (‘The Eighteenth’) were monthly meetings established in 1866 where Pakeha and maori elders were invited to attend issues that felt a sense of injustice about. Discussion over resistance strategies to land ‘grabbing’ and assimilation was also included. It was especially in the 1970s that Maori actively protested and made the general public aware of Maori positioning in society and their sense of grievances, which had been carried with Maori ever since the Invasion of Parihaka. The 1970s were seen as a formative time for modern Maori activism. The key issues in which Maori were protesting was over land, the Treaty of Waitangi, te reo, mana Maori motuhake and tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) and the Maori experience of colonization (as seen negatively through the Parihaka Invasion). Aroha Harris, a prominent Maori historian, has written about Maori protest actions (including those undertaken during the Invasion of Parihaka) in her book ‘Hikoi’. She writes on how Maori were influenced by broader historical events and trends, during the 1960s, such as international and local protest over the Vietnam War, the black civil rights movement in the United States, including revolutionary liberation movements like the Black Panther Party which sparked their determination to undertake direct protest action against government policy and to give Maori a voice from the past and to the present. A strong feature of Maori activism, in the second half of the twentieth century, was the contesting and negotiation of the Treaty and the strained relations between Maori and Pakeha. Maori felt that the general public did not hear them and most especially by the government. The Invasion of Parihaka, as seen by Maori, was an example of how the government tried to take away the rights of Maori (destruction of the autonomous settlement) and to contain them as counterparts to the Pakeha race. The idea of Eurocentrism surfaced through this example, which was heavily contested by Maori.
Maori historian, Te Miringa Hohaia, leads a discussion on the meaning and significance of the Tekau mā waru. To listen, Click Here.
Long-term Consequences
The significance of the Invasion is that this caused a legacy to remain for many modern day Maori which would lead to its reassessment in the end of the 20th century. Duly following the invasion, the government held a negative view on the settlement and on Maori, which remained a long-term consequence that is continually reassessed by the Waitangi Tribunal.
In a major report undertaken by the Waitangi Tribunal in 1996, it accounted for the issue of a formal apology, condemnation of the invasion, compensation for land and grievances felt and agreed on the truthfulness of the Maori historical account of the invasion. Accepting that the Maori account of the Invasion was in fact correct diminished the long held negative perspective of Maori, by the government and some Pakeha, which had been held since the invasion and throughout the 20th Century. This became a significant event for Taranaki Maori and Maori of New Zealand as they felt they had gained a placing in society equal to European settlers and New Zealand Pakeha. The claims made by Taranki Maori were perhaps the largest claims received by the Waitangi Tribunal. Further action was taken to amend Maori grievances; between 2001 and 2006, the New Zealand government set about to redress and issue a formal apology to Taranaki tribes that were directly affected by the Invasion. These tribes (iwi) were Ngati Mutunga, Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, Ngati Tama and Ngati Ruanui. The work of the Waitangi Tribunal and the mending of Maori and Pakeha relations became a key focus during the early 2000s and continue on during the 21st century. Maori felt it was also important to remember the peaceful legacy of Te Whiti and Tohu as they led the example that Maori were in fact peaceful peoples and they did not intend to form strained relations between the European settlers. Modern Maori revealed that they did want to have a strong and positive relationship with Pakeha but in order for this to occur, grievances had to be settled with the government and Maori concerns were not only voiced but also heard.