The New Zealand Wars

The two decades following the Treaty of Waitangi were characterised nationally more by co-operation between Maori and Pakeha than by conflict. The two cultures interacted without either side being dominant. While the Maori believed that this state of affairs would continue the Europeans took for granted that the Maori population would continue to decrease and the European settlers increase, resulting in more Maori land becoming available for development.

During the second half of the 1850s the Maori were getting increasingly uneasy and fearful that they would continue to loose land, and that tribal culture and customs might be in danger of extinction as European settlement increased.

The King Movement

The Kingitanga movement, inspired by Te Rauparaha's son, arose from the belief that the key to the power of the Europeans lay in their unity under the British Crown. They reasoned that if Maori could reach a similar unity they would be able to retain their land and preserve their tribal and customary laws. In 1856, at a representative gathering of tribes, the first Maori King was selected and in 1858 he established his "capitial" at Ngaruawahia. (In the photo is Wiremu Tamihana 'the Kingmaker')

In the eyes of most European colonists, this was an act of Maori disloyalty to the Crown, a blatant attempt to prevent further land sales and a challenge to British sovereignty. To the supporters of the King movement, however, it was seen as the "mana" of the two monarchs becoming complementary, one Chief stating, 'the Maori King and the Queen of England to be joined in accord, God to be over them both'.

The Crown Response

Govenor Brown, together with many settlers, began to voice the opinion that the Maori needed a 'sharp lesson' to teach them who ought to be in charge of country. When 240 acres of Maori land "apparently" came up for sale in Taranaki, but was opposed by a principal Maori Chief, Govenor Brown used it as an opportunity to enforce the sale, bringing protests from local Maori. British troops, numbering around 1,500, responded in Jun 1860 by attacking a Maori pa, but were defeated, suffering 64 casualties. The first battle in the Taranaki Wars had been fought. After much resistence from the Maori over many months, Govenor Brown opted for a truce. The resistence however was to continue.(The drawing above is of Maori fortifications)

The Waikato Wars

The continued settlement and growth of Auckland during the 20 years following its founding in 1840, bought increasing demand for land, in the prime fertile areas that were towards the south. Maori became more and more uneasy with this loss of land, together with the settlers ignoring their tribal customs and the land rights they believed they had retained under the Treaty. (The above painting is of Britomart barracks in Auckland)

Their response at the beginning of the 1860s was to engage in various acts of terrorism, stealing and killing cattle, burning properties, and in some cases murdering settlers. This activity was a real concern to the Auckland population, who responded by establishing 'fencible' townships, on it's outskirts, such as Howick, Panmure, Onehunga and Otahuhu.

The initial Maori resistance and activity however was in the area from Clevedon, across the Hunua ranges, to Papakura and then down to Meremere. The Great South Road (see painting)was built in 1862 -63 as a supply line for the British forces from Auckland into the Waikato.

In 1863, Maori terrorist activity reached such a level that Governor Grey, now in his second term, moved soldiers from the Taranaki and boosted overall troop numbers to 20,000 with the objective of 'putting down' what he saw as a threat to British authority by the Maori King movement. The Maori on the other hand could only amass around 5,000 warriors, drawn from various North Island tribes.

Many battles ensued over the next few years, the first major one being at Rangiriri in Nov 1863. This battle was lost by the Maori, who suffered many casualties, and a further 180 were taken prisoner. The prisoners were shipped off to a prison camp on Kawau Island, from where they eventually escaped and moved onto a pa site at Omaha.

The final battle was in Tauranga in Apr 1864 where the Maori were again out numbered. During the course of the two years 1,000 Maori and 700 Pakeha lost their lives. Worse than this price however, Waikato Maori were punished by the confiscation of 1.3 million hectares of prime land, that further embittered the vanquished tribes.

The action secured for the New Zealand government, what was intended, land with which it could reward the militia troops and settle new colonists.

The Taranaki Wars

The New Zealand Wars as a whole, however, were far from over. As fighting was winding down in the Waikato, a messianic movement called 'Pai Marire' was gaining popularity. Based on Old Testament Psalms mixed with Maori rituals and incantations, it promised deliverence from European domination. Although the group intended peaceful protest, Govenor Grey used the "disturbances" that were happening as an excuse to "put down" what he regarded as Maori rebellion. He sent 3,700 troops to the Wanganui area in 1866 who devastated Maori villages and destroying crops. Thus began the 2nd Taranaki Wars that spawned other campaigns in the lower and central North Island region over the next fifteen years.

Government and settler frustration continued to grow due to the ongoing land disputes and Maori resistence. At a Maori village at Parihaka in Nov 1881, 664 troops and nearly 1,000 settler volunteers attacked the pa. Instead of violence, the troops and settlers were met by singing children offering food. The pa was destroyed, none the less, and the Maori leaders arrested for sedition.

Ongoing disputes and resistence continued for a number of years but this was the last major confrontation of the Wars.

The Role of the Church

The New Zealand Wars interrupted the progress of Christianity among the Māori, and caused an almost universal rejection of the Church of England. At the request of the Governor Grey, Bishop Selwyn leader of the C of E went to Taranaki in Aug 1855 to do what he could to bring peace to the contending Maori parties in a land dispute that threatened to end in fighting. He was a keen critic of the unjust and reckless procedure of the English land companies, and was misunderstood by European and Maori alike. His efforts to supply Christian ministry to the troops on both sides were heroic and indefatigable.

The aftermath of the Wars brought bitter disappointment to Selwyn in his missionary labours among the Maori people. As he witnessed their alienation from the Church and then, under the influence of the Hauhau cult, their apostasy, he felt himself to be “watching over the remnant of a decaying people and the remnant of a decaying faith”.

The Net Result

So what were the effects of the New Zealand Wars and the resistence movements that followed them. Most European New Zealanders, viewed them as a decisive demonstration of the crown's sovereignty, that after all was their view of what the Treaty of Waitangi was all about. There was little understanding at the time, amongst Pakeha, that Maori might feel that the Treaty had been dishonoured.

The general view of the Pakeha was expressed by a Judge who had just convicted a Tuhoe Maori for resisting arrest, "You have learned that the law has a long arm, and that it can reach you, however far back into the recesses of the forest you may travel, and that in every corner of the great Empire to which we belong the King's law can reach anyone who offends against him. That is the lesson your people should learn from this trial".

Nationally, the Maori population dropped from 57,000 in 1857 to 42,000 in 1896, that reinforced the belief that Maori, as a race, were heading for extinction.

Well, the Maori were not to become extinct and this generation have attempted to put right, through the work of the Waitangi tribunal, many of the injustices inflicted on Maori following the signing of the Treaty. Hopefully we can now move forward together, as New Zealanders, in harmony, enjoying this country we like to call "Gods own".

Source material and additional reading:

The History of New Zealand, Michael King 2007

New Zealand Land Wars
History of the NZ Wars
Bishop Selwyn