North Bank of Waitera

Illustration

By: Anonymous

Date: c. 1850

Source: © Corbis.

About the Artist: This image originally appeared in The Illustrated Daily News, a publication that has provided a pictorial record and commentary on domestic and international events since its first printing in 1842. The image is part of the collection of the Corbis Corporation.

INTRODUCTION

Captain James Cook was the first European to arrive in New Zealand. Staying for six months in New Zealand in 1769, Cook often interacted with the indigenous peoples, the Maoris, and at the time of his exploration of the territory, there were approximately 100,000 Maoris in New Zealand. Despite Cook's positive experiences with the Maori, the remote land gained the reputation of being inhabited by bloodthirsty savages and surrounded by treacherous coasts. As a result, immigration to New Zealand was slow. The first immigrants came from across the Tasman Sea from Australia, which had been established as a British penal colony in 1788. By 1820, the non-Maori people inhabiting New Zealand consisted of whalers, merchants, and missionaries. Those of European descent were referred to as Pakeha by the Maori.

The Pakeha population numbered approximately 2,000 by 1839, most of whom emigrated from Britain. The situation in nineteenth century Britain compelled many people to immigrate to the colonies. The population in Britain rose from sixteen million in 1801 to twenty-six million, and the industrial and agricultural revolution displaced many workers. However, disincentives for immigration to New Zealand discouraged many from moving. The long, expensive journey, the presence of closer, more established colonies, as well as the proximity of New Zealand to the penal colony of Australia kept immigration into New Zealand slow until 1840.

In 1840, British Captain William Hodson and forty-five Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty granted British citizenship to those residing on the island and established the principle that the Maori could only sell their land to the government. Also in 1840, the New Zealand Company was established to settle the new colony. The New Zealand Company, created by Edward Gibbon, was based on the philosophy that the problems created by the population explosion in Britain could be fixed by exporting a portion of its population. As a result, Gibbon designed a plan to facilitate large migrations of Britons to New Zealand. The New Zealand Company used advertisements and propaganda in books and pamphlets to create the vision that New Zealand was the "Britain of the South," a fertile land without the economic hardships occurring in Europe. The company offered free passage to craftsmen, builders, blacksmiths, and gardeners, and promised investors one hundred acres of farmland and one acre of town land. As a result, the Pakeha population rose from 2,000 in 1839 to 28,000 in 1852.

There were three types of settlers immigrating to New Zealand: those families offered free passage from companies like the New Zealand Company, those individuals crossing the Tasman Sea from Australia, and military settlers. In 1854, the New Zealand provincial government was tasked with immigration. As a result, the government began using advertisements and propaganda similar to the New Zealand Company to facilitate immigration. The government once again offered free passage to laborers, brick masons, and single women. In the Auckland region, land grants were offered as incentives for immigration.

PRIMARY SOURCE

NORTH BANK OF WAITERA

See primary source image.

SIGNIFICANCE

The initial introduction of Europeans to the Maori allowed for trade between the two peoples. Europeans educated Maori by teaching them how to read and write, as well as teaching the Maori more efficient agricultural techniques. The introduction of firearms, often given as payment to the Maori, began to facilitate greater tribal conflicts.

The Treaty of Waitangi eventually became the focus of contention, as the Maori began to lose more of their land to the Pakeha. The Maori language version of the treaty expressed that the British were granted kawanatanga, or the right to maintain order and make laws. The Maori would, however, retain rangatiratanga, or sovereignty. In addition, the Maori law, or ture, asserts that the land is owned by the community and that property could not be sold without the consent of the entire tribe. As land ownership was a foreign concept, Maori scholars suggest that the tribesmen that signed treaties to sell land believed that they were agreeing to allow the Pakeha use of the land, thereby explaining why land was often sold to many parties.

In 1860, British troops tried to remove Te Ataiwa tribes people from the land at Waitera, which was purchased from Te Teira, the nephew of the Te Ataiwa chief, Te Rangitake (also referred to as Wiremu Kingi, his Christian name). Although the sale was disputed, the government ordered 350 troops to enforce the removal of the tribe. The Te Ataiwa were reinforced by other Maori tribes and continued to resist until 1872.

In 1973, February 6th was designated Waitangi Day. This led to a series of protests by Maori activists, including a 30,000-person march to Wellington. This protest led to the 1975 Treaty of Waitangi Act and the creation of the Waitangi Tribunal. The tribunal was tasked with reviewing land claims that, as the result of an additional act in 1985, go back as far as 1840. This includes challenges to confiscations, title grants, and interests in rivers, lakes, and mined resources.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Periodicals

Mydans, Seth. "The Maori Rights Furor: A Question of Ancestry." New York Times. October 29, 1985.

Slavicek, Louise Chipley. "The Maori and the Pakeha." Faces. January 1, 2001.

Web sites

New Zealand Government. "History of Immigration." 〈http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/HistoryOfImmigration/2/e〉 (accessed June 15, 2006).