PLEA TO RECOGNISE MAORIS' PART IN OTAGO'S SETTLEMENT

Evening Star, Issue 26149, 10 July 1947, Page 5

PLEA TO RECOGNISE MAORIS' PART IN OTAGO'S SETTLEMENT

An appeal for practical appreciation of the association of the Maori people with the settlement of Otago is made by " Early Historian " in a letter to the ' Star' about the centennial celebrations next year. •" I suggest that the Centennial Committee or those in authority should take active steps to see that some recognition is made of the good offices rendered by the original Maori vendors of the Otago Block," he says.

SCHEME TO SET LAND ASIDE

“ Early Historian ” says his own suggestions are: — (1) That the City Council should he prevailed oil to set aside some five ,to 20 acres, which could be made available to Maoris working iu the city to build their own, homes and erect a carved meeting house. ■' (2) That there should be a . scheme whereby Maoris may obtain such land on the Peninsula as may be offered for sale. - , (3) That the titles of Lakes ' Wakatipu, Hawea, and Wailiora should be secured to the descendants of the original vendors, together with.sufficient land to maintain farms run by corporations in the interests of the said descendants. The definite proposals are’ made at the end of a letter, which reads as follows :• — “The Centennial Committee of 1948 has pianned an elaborate series of events to commemorate the 100 years of progress which l have elapsed since the first colonists arrived in this fair province of Otago. Much has already been written of the sterling qualities of the early pioneers and their descendants who have made such an epic‘con-' tribution .of courage, hard work, foresight, and co-ordinated planning which alone has made possible our modern way of life, . ■ ... “ This is indeed creditable, but I feel that the part of the people who were really the first colonists of this once rugged land lias been somewhat understated and neglected. I refer to the Maori people of bygone days, who stood on these very shores and welcomed'the'first ships. They also, supplied the first colonists with quantities of fresh vegetables, potatoes, corn, and fish. Much of the produce was grown on the distant island of Ruapuke, and brought here in small, bpen boats. “NOT UNCIVILISED.” “ Some of your contributors have referred to the fact that the Maoris of Otago; or' Otakou, which is -the uncorrupted version, were quite contented at first with the deed of sale by which they agreed to give up the 400.000 acres which comprises the province of Otago for the sum of-£2,000. 1 It cannot be imagined that this sniall siim was the inducement for which, chiefs like Tuhawaiki, Taiaroa, Keretai, Hoani Welere- Korako, Kaahu Horomona Pohio, Haereroa, Potiki, Topi Patuki, and many others piffled with the lands for which their ancestors, Taoka, Te Ruahikihiki, and Te Hauta-pu\uii-f)-Tu fought most bloody battles of conquest. “ These chiefs were not the uncivilised savages that many of us to-day are

inclined to believe they were. Tuhawaiki had been to Syduey, and he regularly ran the only passenger boat oi those days from Wellington to the Bluff; Horomona Pohio was probably the first cultured Maori of the Euroipea n era; he was later to become the first Maori J.P.; Watkins Korako, and maiiy others had received fair educations from the missionaries, Watkins, and Wohlers. All had had considerable experience and dealings with the white man. Johnny Jones, Weller, Harewood, and many others had constant dealings with the Maoris. There were also the whaling stations, 6ea captains, whalers—in fact, white men were almost as common as Maoris along the shores in the days before 1844. ONE-TENTH PROMISED. “ The whole point 1 wish to maike is that these men signed their heritage away for a nominal sum, but did so (as they did, also, at Canterbury and Southland) in the belief that there would be reserved for them one-tenth of the lands after these had been surveyed. This was indeed promised, as can be verified in various documents in both the New Zealand and Scottish archives. “However; when the colonists arrived with their own plans for the subdivision of the province, there was no'reference to the earlier promise to give the Maoris a tenth- share of the land. Instead a small strip was cut off the Otago Peninsula, and that, together with a few other worthless reserves, was the only compensation the Maoris received for the surrender' of their lands. “ The old chiefs had staked the chances of population and prosperous progress of their race upon the good work of the early colonists. Their numbers had been severely reduced by exposure to the new diseases spread among them bv contact with the white man. Hundreds, in fact, whole villages, perished ,in periodic epidemics of measles, tuberculosis, and other ills to which their donors were comparatively immune. 5 “ The chiefs realised that the future path of their people lay alongside the road of the pakelia, and so they freely consented to give up the greater part of their land to the white man. Their decision was indeed a wise one, and, had our first colonists and Provincial Government spared a little more time from their own all-consuming projects for the future progress and development of their infant colony, and given a just and sympathetic ear to the pleas of their Maori brethren'for adequate reserves, then J aniysur.e. that, to-day both races could review 'the past with a feeling of pride in the part that they had played vin the development of Otago.

CLAIM TO POST OFFICE SITE

“ When the Maoris found that the policy of tenths had been abandoned, they asked that certain "lands with which they were most intimately con-' nected should be reserved for them. “These were:—-(1)'. The entire Peninsular should be reserved for them ■ and their children; (2) the Lakes' Hawea, t Wakatipu,Vand Waihola, Where once had stood large pas, should also be reserved; (3) certain sections at Koputai/ Port Chalmers ; (4) several small scattered pa sites and cemeteries; (5) the Princes street post office site. “The Provincial Govrenmont, in spite of directives 'from . Sir George Grey, refused to hand over the post office site in Princes street. This was formerly called Otepoti, and it was here that the Maoris used to draw up their canoes and sell their- wares. I believe that the title of this site is still actively contested by the Maoris. “ None of the lakes, which are rich in Maori history, have been returned to the claimants. Vague movements have begun at various times to make certain large reservations at Lake Hawea, but nothing lias ever came of

them. These lakes may eventually become the source of another-contest like the Lake TaUpo and’ Wanganui Riverbed cases. “The promised reserves of Koputai, Port Chalmers, were whittled down a few small sections,' which have long since /been used as a shipbuilder’s yards. " The Native Reserve at the Kaik was not enlarged, and as a consequence of the land being Joo small for all to farm individually, or collectively, the majority had to'forsake their ancestral vhomes and seek employment among the pajreha. There is,nothing degrading about work, and the Southern Maoris have indeed come through a difficult period of transition of culture with flying colours. A crosssection of the community to-day would reveal that there are Maori men and women in nearly every sphere of •employment. PAID DEARLY FOR CULTURE. “ The Maoris have paid dearly for the acquisition of ciilture as we know it to-day. They lnlve been scattered far and wideband aj-e .constantly under the threat of assimilation. The Scot is proud of his race and homeland, and so is the Maori. “ The major portion of the Maoris of Otakou now find;their employment in the city, and it seems lamentable that their original requests for small reservations in the town area were never acceded to. It is a fact, however, that many nov own their own homes in Dunedin., It is curious also 1 to note that there >re two or three pa sites and old cemeteries on the thickly-populated hills of Kaikorai and Opoho. Many a home and farm must stancJ_.upon some place which was once the pa or cemetery of some old chief and his followers. “ I have endeavoured to outline the conditions upon whicll the citizens of Otago have obtained their title to the province of Otago, with the plea and hope that it may bring about a stronger bond of understanding between two peoples who are now Iso nearly, one.”