A Kiingitanga spokesperson says placing a Waikato battle site in the hands of descendants of those who fought and died there is a way to acknowledge the past and move forward.
Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara/Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its first reading on Tuesday, and submissions close on June 14.
The crown bought the 9.7 hectare site in 2015, a year after the 150th anniversary of the last battle of the Waikato War, also known as Rewi’s Last Stand.
It’s where about 300 defenders from multiple iwi and hapu took on a far larger British force and refused to surrender.
Rahui Papa says it was a critical moment in the history of Aotearoa.
“So one of our things is ‘mea maumahara tatou’ – we must remember. We have an obligation and a responsibility to remember what happened to our tupuna. But in this day and age we don’t have to dwell on the mamae and the rīri. We can move forward to try and rectify what happened to our tupuna,” he says.
Mr Papa says eventually the site should become a national memorial recognising not just Maniapoto, Raukawa and Waikato but the other iwi and hapū who fought at the battle in support of Waikato and the Kiingitanga.
