November 16, 2015
Te Aitanga a Mahaki remembers dark day
Te Aitanga a Mahaki and other iwi from Turanganui a Kiwa are marking the 150th anniversary of the siege of Waerenga a Hika.
That’s when 200 colonial troops backed by 300 Maori allies, mainly from Ngati Porou, attacked the pa on the outskirts of Gisborne.
Commemoration coordinator Robyn Rauna says they claimed the presence of Pai Maarire supporters in the pa was evidence of rebellion.
Of the 800 people in the pa, 71 were killed and most of the survivors were deported without trial to the Chatham Islands.
"We term them the whakarau, the multitude of our people taken to Wharekauri and it set off a train of events: the confiscation of (meeting house) Te Hau ki Turanga; Te Kooti led the escape from Wharekauri in July 1868; there were subsequent attacks where Te Kooti exacted revenge; a deed of cession in which 1.95 million acres of our land was ceded to the crown under duress; and then of course in January 1869, executions of between 86 and 128 unarmed members and prisoners of the whakarau," Ms Rauna says.
She’s looking forward to hearing historian Vincent O’Malley speak at Tairawhiti Museum tonight about the events of 1865, followed by the unveiling of a memorial pou at Waerenga-a-Hika on Wednesday morning.
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