Shared issues and approaches - the Treaty in practice

Shared issues and approaches

Maori were increasingly aware of the grievances they shared. By the early 20th century, many were also in dire circumstances. There was high infant mortality, low life expectancy and a lack of good land. Prospects looked bleak, but new leaders with new ideas were emerging.

Growing unity

After the wars of the 1860s many Maori realised the extent of shared grievances against the Crown. Honouring the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi was seen as a means of redress. The Repudiation Movement, based in Hawke's Bay, organised a series of widely attended meetings throughout the 1870s. In 1879 the Ngati Whatua leader Paora Tuhaere staged a parliament at Orakei where these matters were fully debated.

Government actions sometimes united Maori. In November 1881 government forces invaded the southern Taranaki settlement of Parihaka and detained, without trial, its pacifist leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi. Maori the length of the country were concerned.

From 1882 the first of several Maori representatives travelled to England to present petitions before their Treaty of Waitangi partner. All were referred back to the New Zealand government, which rejected their pleas. After one such deputation, King Tawhiao wrote to the governor in exasperation: 'no matter how you may be addressed you will not regard nor reciprocate'. Many chiefs shared the sentiment.

Tawhiao set up the Kauhanganui, or King's Council, with its own constitution and governance structures. Tribes outside the Kingitanga developed similar initiatives. One was the Kotahitanga (Unity) movement. In 1892 its first Maori parliament was held – Te Kotahitanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This met annually for a decade, unrecognised by New Zealand's Parliament.

A new leadership

By the end of the 19th century, Maori social and economic prospects looked poor. The Maori population had fallen to a low of about 42,000 in 1891. Maori councils, set up in 1900 to address self-governance and improve Maori health and sanitation, had few resources and limited authority. Politicians worried that Maori would become a burden on the state.

A new generation of Maori leaders emerged in the early 20th century. These men aimed to ensure the survival of Maori culture through modernisation. Their approach was based firmly within the mainstream, rather than following the separatist strategies that had seemingly failed in the 1890s.

The new leaders came to be known as the Young Maori Party, although they were not a formal political party. They had attended some of the Native or Maori schools, set up after 1867 (and abolished in 1969). Many Maori communities were keen to grasp the educational opportunities these schools offered. Importantly, these men had been educated at the elite Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay, which supplied leaders in many areas of Maori society. They comprised a group of politician knights: Sir Apirana Ngata, Sir Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) and Sir Maui Pomare. These men, bilingual and scholarly, emphasised hygiene, sanitation and temperance, and believed in the value of a European-based education system while retaining te reo (the Maori language) in the home.

James Carroll of Ngati Kahungunu paved the way for these men. He was the first Maori to be elected to a general or European seat in Parliament (1893) and the first Maori Minister of Native Affairs (1899). In 1909 and 1911 he was Acting Prime Minister – the first Maori to hold such a position. Carroll's bicultural heritage was reflected in his philosophy. He was convinced that Maori could succeed within European society provided they received a fair go. His own successful political career seemed proof.

Maui Pomare and Peter Buck played pivotal roles in improving Maori health and housing. Apirana Ngata, the first Maori to graduate from a New Zealand university, was MP for Eastern Maori (1905–43) and helped set up schemes to develop Maori lands into workable farming units. When he became Minister of Native Affairs, Ngata presided over large-scale Maori land development schemes. There was some government funding to assist Maori development and the settlement of ownership claims over Lake Taupo and the Rotorua lakes.