Driven from Ancestral Lands

Te Ao Hou, September 1965, Page 53

Driven from Ancestral Lands It was in the Waitaki area also that the last remnants of this ancient race were hunted and driven from their homes by mounted constabulary and runholders armed with guns. There had long been disputes about the ownership of the upper Waitaki valley, the Maori owners claiming that they had sold to the Pakeha only the land in sight of the coast. In 1877 a group of about 150 Maoris went to live on the bleak, swampy flats at Omarama (four miles south of the new dam) in order to demonstrate their rights to the surrounding country. But two years later they were driven out by the armed constabulary and it was only through the timely intervention of Ihaia Tainui, Member of Parliament for Southern Maori, that bloodshed was avoided. It was the middle of winter. Snow was falling, and it was bitterly cold. With their carts and drays, the small group of Waitaha began the long, painful trek to the mouth of the river, where they still owned a few acres. One can well imagine the feelings of their old chief and tohunga Maiharoa as he passed through the tribal camping ground of Maukatipua and climbed to the top of the Otematakou Saddle. The last of the ancient lineage of the chiefs of Waitaha, he looked back, deprived of his birthright, at the lands where for remote ages his people had hunted, fought and died. Slowly he turned his back on those great mountains and valleys, and with a sad heart began the long journey to the coast. The dispute over this area, along with other South Island disputes, was settled only in 1944, when the Government offered to settle what were known as the Ngaitahu Claims for £300,000, payment to be spread over 30 years. This offer was accepted, and so the Ngaitahu Trust Board came into being.