Te Arawa has just been given the Rotorua lakes and is about to get $500 million from the Crown in the “Treelords” settlement. If it had not been for the Tiriti o Waitangi, the missionaries, the Crown and the people of New Zealand in the 1820’s to the 1870’s, it is more than likely Te Arawa would have lost their land and lakes with many becoming dinner to a more powerful tribe. Although they did not sign the Tiriti o Waitangi, it protected them and their lands from being taken by others. Britain had kept her promise to protect “all the people of New Zealand and their property”, but no more so than Te Arawa!!!

Since the “mythical” arrival of Te Arawa in the canoe “Te Arawa” at Maketu in 1340 and as their numbers increased, Te Arawa split into many small tribes, some moving north to Tauranga, some south to Matata and some inland to Rotorua and Taupo. These tribes were constantly at war with each other as well as travelling north to annoy Ngapuhi. As there was no unity between the tribes of Te Arawa, Te Arawa never progressed until British law, order and protection arrived under the Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

The Te Arawa tribes that moved to Rotorua and Taupo found people already inhabiting these areas. These people were called Ngati Hotu and were described as, “of non-Maori appearance, having reddish hair and pale skin”. Te Arawa drove these people to extinction.
For further information into pre-Maori history, www.celticnz.co.nz/RaglanRamble.htm

Consider this: The coffins seen above were photographed in 1919 high up a cliff-face in a very remote and isolated part of New Zealand. Each coffin was hewn by stone tools from a single log, like a dugout canoe. These coffins were not “planked” or made from sawn timbers, as one would expect colonial European coffins to be fabricated at any point during the colonial era. The coffin lids, seen above, were also hewn from a single, thick plank, with the edge “lip” (used for locking the lid firmly onto the coffin box) carved by scalloping out the central region. One skeleton lies on what appears to have been the base of an old canoe.
These skeletons are recognisable European physiology. They were already very old when found in rugged country, far from any European churchyard. These people were obviously the white Ngati Hotu, known in local Maori and European folklore to have hidden from the cannibals for centuries in this inhospitable central North Island region.
The location of this isolated burial cave or shelter was less than 50-miles further into the rugged badlands interior from where the last of the Ngati Hotu tribe were defeated and cannibalised in the “Battle of the Five Forts” at Pukekaikiore (hill of the meal of rats). A blowup of the picture positively shows a side view of a jaw (mandible) adjacent to the canoe base, which is not Maori, but European. Maori predominantly have a “rocker jaw” with a continuous downwards curve on the lower border. Further to that, the eye sockets of these people are squarish, the nose openings pyramidal, the faces long and narrow (dolicephalic skull type) and the craniums very round with a high vault. The face line from the jaw past the nose and brow is consistent with the European facial profile, rather than the very flat face of the Maori.

In March 1828, a party of Te Arawa visiting the North were lucky to escape with their lives when they were suspected of causing the death of Hongi Hika through witchcraft. They were however, given protection by the missionaries and sent back to the Bay of Plenty on the ships Herald and Haweis.

In 1830, Hans Homman Felk, a Dane who had been a pirate and later changed his name to Philip Tapsell, arrived in Maketu. Tapsell began trading flax for muskets. So imperative for Te Arawa to arm themselves with muskets, much of the food gathering etc was neglected for growing flax. Land was also fought over between the tribes of Te Arawa to grow their crops of flax. Tapsell later opened a trading post on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua.

In August 1831, a deputation of Te Arawa men went to the Bay of Islands seeking a missionary to come and live amongst them. In November, Thomas Chapman set up a mission station at Te Kouto next to Te Arawa’s main pa at Ohinemutu. The arrival of the missionaries started to bring peace between the tribes of Te Arawa.

Between 1832 and 1834, there was much warfare between Ngapuhi of the north and Te Arawa. 1835 saw a Matamata tribe under Te Waharoa take the Maketu pa, destroying Tapsell’s trading post. Te Arawa retaliated taking the pa of Te Tumu, an ally of Te Waharoa. Te Waharoa again retaliated but was defeated with heavy loss to Te Arawa. Te Arawa re-occupied Maketu.

During the next year, desultory warfare broke out between Te Arawa and the Ngati Haua with great casualties on both sides.

In 1840, the Tiriti o Waitangi was signed giving protection and equal rights to “all the people of New Zealand”. New Zealand became British soil under British law; a law that would take some time to unite and protect “all the people of New Zealand”, irrespective of race, colour or creed.

In November 1842, a series of incidents occurred between the Te Arawa of Maketu and Ngaiterangi of Tauranga. Although there were still many minor squabbles between those of Tauranga and Maketu, peace was largely established between Te Arawa by 1843 with the appointment of resident magistrates and the British troops.

Great progress was made in Rotorua between 1842 and 1860. Agriculture had taken off with several flourmills operating in the area, which only a generation before had been a violent, disunited group of smallish tribes. Many schools had been established and many Maori magistrates had been appointed. The Tiriti o Waitangi had brought peace, protection and prosperity to the people of Te Arawa.

In 1863, Te Arawa announced that no reinforcements were to pass through their territory to assist the Waikato who at the time were fighting with the Government troops. Waikato was hindering the progress of New Zealand by refusing to allow a road to be built through their territory and the threat of an attack on Auckland. Te Arawa were assisted by Government troops.

However in 1865, a much more serious threat to final peace was making itself felt in the new cult of Hauhauism. In May, Te Arawa were once more involved in battle with this rebel force under their notorious leader Kereopa at Te Tapira near Murapara. Te Arawa, while suffering great loss were able to hold them off until Government reinforcements under the command of William Mair arrived. In September, a force of Te Arawa under the command of Mair again engaged a large number of these rebels at Matata, finally defeating them and driving them out.

In 1867, Te Arawa again saw warfare in the Rotoru district. A Waikato party had attacked Rotorua while most of the fighting men were at Tauranga. This time Gilbert Mair, brother of William with his troops reached the district just in time to engage the enemy at Te Koutu. The Waikato had occupied the north and west tenches of a long abandoned pa site. Finally, the Waikato were driven off leaving bodies of a number of their party on the fields. If Gilbert Mair and his troops had not reached Rotoru in time, Waikato would more than likely have taken Rotorua, slaughtering its remaining inhabitants.

In March 1867, troops were sent from Tauranga to attack a large number of Hauhaus who had thrown up a defensive work at Puraku, just south of the present Tarukena settlement. The defences were destroyed but hardly had the troops arrived back in Rotorua before the rebels returned and rebuilt Puraku into a strong defended site. Another attack was made, this time successful in chasing the rebels well into the Mamaku forest.

In January 1868, there was further trouble when a large party of Hauhaus came down from the Urewera country and raided many villages in the Ohiwa district. A group of 100 Te Arawa men were engaged to assist the Government troops in pursuing the Hauhau up the Waimana valley.

In July 1868, Te Kooti escaped from the Chatham Island and began his bloodthirsty, violent campaign. For many months the country was in an uproar over his ability to strike hard and run. During this time a contingent of Te Arawa men were engaged with the British troops.

In February 1870, Te Kooti struck at Rotorua and due to his skilful tactics almost caught its inhabitants off guard. Fortunately Gilbert Mair, suspecting what might be happening, rushed through to Rotorua from Tapapa just in time to engage Te Kooti’s party who had created havoc among the settlements and cultivations along Tihi-o- Tonga ridge. Te Kooti and his men had reached what is now the centre of the City of Rotorua when the first shots were fired and a running battle ensued which followed the course of the Rotorua – Taupo highway for some six miles. The final battle took place at the base of the Tumunui Mountain with Te Kooti being soundly beating and a number of his best men lost.

For the next year, the Government engaged Gilbert Mair and his troops to patrol and protect Te Arawa people and their lands (Kaingaroa) from the marauding rebels.

With the Government’s protection now firmly established, this was the end of warfare in Te Arawa lands. A constabulary was established at Te Koutu by men who had formally been in Gilbert Mair’s troops. Over the next century, schools, shops, banks, hotels, churches and hospitals were built, businesses and agriculture flourished. Roads, rail and air joined Rotorua to the rest of the world. In 1962, Rotorua became a city. While Te Arawa had been constantly at war and in fear to protect themselves and their lands since 1340, they could now progress knowing the law would protect them. Titles to land were issued and land could only be sold if the seller was willing with fully documented evidence being kept at Archives of all transactions.

The majority of this information is from, “A Pocket History of Rotorua” by Don Stafford written in 1975. Don Stafford wrote this book by interviewing Te Arawa elders and researching the “true” history of Te Arawa prior to 1975 and before the next generation of Te Arawa could see the big dollars from rewriting, distorting or select researching their history to defraud the people who did so much for them, some even paying the ultimate price, to protect them and their lands from being taken from them by other tribes and rebels between 1820 to 1875. While the Government owes Te Arawa for their loyalty, in most cases for Te Arawa’s own gain or protection, Te Arawa owes the Titiri o Waitangi, the Government and the people of New Zealand for the protection of its people and its lands. Mr Stafford states in the preface, “I am confident that a fuller understanding of the contributions made in the past by earlier people of this area can only highten the appreciation of what we have today. If the material in this little book helps to do this, it will be well justified”, Don Stafford. 1975.

To claim these lands back, now that they are in full production, which were purchased on a willing seller/willing buyer basis over a century ago, is very ungrateful to the people of New Zealand.

In 1889, Gilbert Mair on behalf of the Government purchased land that is now known as the Kaingaroa Forest. While this land would grow exotic trees, pastures for farming were unsuccessful until the element cobalt was introduced in 1940/50. While trees flourished, the cost to plant them and then wait 25 to 30 years for a return could only be undertaken by the Government. The Crown purchase gave Te Arawa instant capital and employment for its people. The tribes affiliated to this area agreed to sell the land, even digging up their old chief to accept the money from Gilbert Mair. This land was bought and planted in trees by the people of New Zealand as security for “all the people of New Zealand”. The Crown has no right to return it to Te Arawa, especially now it is in full production, it belongs to the people of New Zealand - they bought the land and grew the trees on it!!!
The Sale of the Kaingaroa Forest, CLICK HERE

It must also be remembered, Te Arawa today are not the people that sold this land in 1889. Since this time, they have intermarried mainly with the people they claim stole their land. As a past Race Relations Conciliator of Maori descent, Mr John Clark stated, “Maori today are a people with Maori ancestry as one sees in legislation”.

The Kaingaroa Forest was bought on a willing seller/willing buyer basis. Gilbert Mair was a loyal and trusted friend of Te Arawa as can be seen from the respect they showed each other in 1889.

Compiled by the One New Zealand Foundation Inc.