Today in History
1 July
1988 Bastion Point land returned
The government announced that it had agreed to the Waitangi Tribunal's recommendation that Bastion Point in Auckland be returned to Ngati Whatua ownership.
Protesters had occupied Bastion Point in January 1977 after the government announced a housing development on former Ngati Whatua reserve land. The land had been gradually reduced in size by compulsory acquisition, leaving the Ngati Whatua ki Orakei tribal group holding less than one hectare. The protestors, calling themselves the Orakei Maori Action Committee, occupied Bastion Point for 506 days, refusing to leave their ancestral lands.
On 25 May 1978, the government sent in a massive force of police and army to evict them. Two hundred and twenty-two protesters were arrested and their temporary meeting house, buildings, and gardens were demolished. The Bastion Point occupation became one of the most famous protest actions in New Zealand history.
Ten years later the Waitangi Tribunal supported Maori claims to that land, a decision that was backed up by the government.
Image: Joe Hawke (Te Ara)
