Ngati Haua Deed of Settlement - Terabyte Interactive

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NGĀTI HAUĀ DEED OF SETTLEMENT2: HISTORICAL ACCOUNT1880 also provided for lands to be set aside for former ‘rebels’. In 1882 an inquiry washeld at Cambridge to award Crown grants for sections at Tauwhare but few claimantsappeared and only ten certificates were made. The certificates provided that a Crowngrant would issue to the holder, but it does not appear that any Crown grants wereissued.2.68 In 1883 a Crown official reported “the failure of endeavours during the last fourteenyears to get ex-rebels of the Ngatihaua tribe to desert the King and occupy theTauwhare Block”. The reoccupation of the Tauwhare lands by Ngāti Hauā on aninformal basis did increase over time and in the 1920s the proposed Crown sale ofsome of the lands prompted closer inquiry into their title status. In 1927 a number ofthe remaining sections were returned to Ngāti Hauā; however, these represented asmall fraction of area the Crown had originally intended to reserve for the iwi.SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF WAR AND RAUPATU2.69 War and confiscation imposed heavy burdens upon Ngāti Hauā. Many Ngāti Hauāwere killed or wounded in defending Kīngitanga lands. This included importantrangatira, the loss of whose leadership was a significant blow for the iwi.2.70 Ngāti Hauā also lost access to some of their most fertile and valuable lands within theconfiscated area. Ngāti Hauā communities living on those lands were required to movebeyond the raupatu boundaries, placing an additional burden on their remaining landsto support them.2.71 At the end of the war, in mid-1865, it was reported that Ngāti Hauā and other iwi in theWaikato were suffering from food shortages and that many people were sick and dyingas a result. Food was being brought in from outside the district. One visitorcommented on the “great destitution and misery” seen in settlements in Ngāti Hauā’sterritory. Their economy suffered serious damage and the population was dispersed.The confiscation was a critical step towards Ngāti Hauā being left virtually landless.PEACE-MAKING AND THE FIRST PETITION OF WIREMU TAMEHANA2.72 In early 1865 Wiremu Tamehana was reported as being anxious to meet with theGovernor. However, no meeting took place.2.73 On 5 April 1865 Wiremu Tamehana petitioned the Premier and Parliament. His petitionchallenged the Crown’s actions in sending forces into and subsequently confiscatingWaikato. He asked that the pre-war boundaries be restored so that peace could bemade, insisting that “we have done no wrong on account of which we should suffer, andour lands also be taken from us”.2.74 Wiremu Tamehana also defended the right of the Kīngitanga to exercise control overMāori and their remaining lands. He criticized the actions of Crown forces atRangiaowhia, and lamented the deaths of women and children in that engagement.The Crown did not immediately respond to Wiremu Tamehana’s petition.2.75 In May 1865 Tamehana met with a Member of Parliament who had travelled toWaikato. He agreed to make peace and travelled with a group of about 60 other NgātiHauā rangatira to the settlement of Tamahere. There, Tamehana laid his taiaha at thefeet of a British officer. He then signed an agreement, which he referred to as ‘hemaungarongo (the covenant of peace). Tamehana also asked that the Governorappoint an independent commissioner to clear his name. The Governor acknowledged19
NGĀTI HAUĀ DEED OF SETTLEMENT2: HISTORICAL ACCOUNTthe peace made with Tamehana, describing it as “a declaration of allegiance to theQueen”.JULY 1865 PETITION2.76 On 18 July 1865 Tamehana wrote a further petition to Parliament, more directlyconcerned with rebutting the many accusations levelled against him. He observed thathe had been called “an evil man, a rebel, a murderer”, and many damaging words hadbeen written to Queen Victoria concerning him. Tamehana stated he had only taken uparms in self-defence after Māori living in South Auckland had been forcibly expelledfrom their homes and the Mangatāwhiri River was crossed by British troops.Tamehana added: “Am I a man of murder? I only fought for my body and my land; I hadnot any wish to fight”. He again requested that someone be appointed to inquire intothe allegations that had been made against him. He maintained that his letter ofwarning to a Tauranga missionary in 1863, which warned of the possibility of an attackby Māori on that settlement, had been misinterpreted as evidence of his own hostileintent, but that an independent arbitrator would disprove this allegation.2.77 The Crown did not establish an independent inquiry into who had been responsible forthe war, arguing that the actions taken had been “absolutely necessary for the safety ofthe Colony”. Tamehana repeated his plea when the Auckland Civil Commissionervisited Matamata in December 1865.WIREMU TAMEHANA IN WELLINGTON2.78 In May 1866 Governor Grey met with Wiremu Tamehana during a visit to Waikato. Hepersuaded Tamehana, who was by this time in very poor health, to travel to Wellingtonand present his grievances directly to Parliament.2.79 On 24 July 1866 Wiremu Tamehana presented his third and final petition to Parliament.This petition again reviewed events leading up to and during the Waikato War.Tamehana referred to his ‘Great Darkness’ and ‘Sorrow-of-heart’ (‘i Pourinui, iNgakaumamae’) and stated that he had travelled to Wellington in the hope that thegreat weight upon him might be lifted. He asked that the confiscated Waikato lands bereturned and criticized the conduct of the Crown forces during the war.2.80 On 11 August 1866 Wiremu Tamehana gave evidence before a Parliamentarycommittee specially appointed to consider his petition. The committee chairmandeclined to set up a full inquiry into Tamehana’s conduct and advised that the return ofthe confiscated Waikato lands in full was not possible.2.81 Wiremu Tamehana was asked to select a small piece of land for himself and his tribe.He declined to do so, insisting that he had travelled to Wellington to seek the return ofall of Waikato to its rightful owners. On 4 September the committee issued its report,recommending that the petition be referred to the Superintendent of Auckland Province.No further action appears to have been taken regarding the petition.2.82 Wiremu Tamehana’s health continued to deteriorate after his return from Wellington.Worn out and depressed at his failure to obtain the return of Kīngitanga lands and thepublic restoration of his name, the rangatira died at Peria on 27 December 1866.2.83 Ngāti Hauā today remembers Wiremu Tamehana as a man of peace, and a deeplyprincipled person, who was wrongly branded a war maker by some of hiscontemporaries.20
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