October 28, 2022
Line drawn from He Whakaputanga to Rau Maumahara
It’s Rau Maumahara, the official day to mark the New Zealand Land Wars, as well as the anniversary of the signing of the 1835 Declaration of Independence, He Whakaputanga.
History works co-founder Vincent O’Malley, who has written histories of the Waikato War, says the date for Rau Maumahara was chosen so it did not clash with an actual battle date, so it could be seen as a national day.
“There’s an obvious connection with He Whakaputanga in the sense that if we think what the New Zealand Wars, Nga Pakanga o Aotearoa were all about, Maori were defending their tino rangatiratanga under attack from the crown and that tino rangatiratanga was affirmed and declared in He Whakaputanga in 1835,” he says.
Dr O’Malley says it wasn’t until after the British victory in the Waikato War that the colonial government was able to introduce the Native Land Court and the Native school system, both of which undermined Maori sovereignty.