TE KARANGA A TAINUI AWHIRO

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 15, 23 February 1978, Page 1

TE KARANGA A TAINUI AWHIRO

by

Syd Jackson

I ka tonu taka ahi, i runga i toku whenua - my fire has always been alight on my people’s land. On February 12, seventeen Maori patriots were arrested for wilful trespass while waiting to take part in a Church Service on a sacred burial ground in Raglan. The Urupa on which they were arrested is one of two Urupas situated on the Raglan Golf Course which is part of 26 hectares of land taken by the Government during World War 11. The land was effectively confiscated by the Government under the War Emergency Regulations for an aerodrome, and has not been returned to the owners. It was just one of a number of blocks of Maori land which were taken at that time. Maori land was confiscated at Kaitaia, Matamata, Rotorua and Bell Block, ostensibly for the purpose of building aerodromes.

Two hundred and fifty people were present in Raglan on the Urupa to which they had been invited by the Tangata-whenua, Tainui Awhiro. Eva Rickard, who is spokesman for the local people, had invited some people from outside their tribal area to attend, but these made up only a small proportion of the crowd who had gathered together for the Church service. Overwhelmingly, those who were present were Waikato and, in particular, Tainui Awhiro. Included among their number were numerous Kuia and Kaumatua including Raglan’s eldest Kuia, Mrs Herepo Rongo. Morally and legally, the land is theirs. They had every right to be there, and to invite whoever they wished to be present with them. The Golf Club, however, reacted hysterically to the presence of so many Maoris, and reflected the fear of Pakeha society at large that they might be swamped by hordes of brownskinned people by demanding that the police clear away these uppity natives. The forces of law and order predictably reacted in a provocative manner, and on highly selective lines to clear the Golf-course of the so-called "ring-leaders”. All they succeeded in doing, however, was to increase the resentment of those Maoris who were present, and those who saw it on television.

It is not known on what basis the police dediced who the "ring-leaders” were, but there can be little doubt that they tried to destroy the credibility of the local people by arresting 16 people from outside of Waikato and only Eva Rickard from Tainui Awhiro. This was clearly an at-

tempt to discredit the whole movement by being able to say that it was just one eccentric woman from Raglan, and agroup of imported professional stirrers who were present, but such is far from the truth. Support for this contention is found in the fact that the police allowed all the other people to stay for another 2'/2-3 hours. If all were trespassing or creating a nuisance, it is reasonable to expect that they would also have been removed. The policy would also have arrested many of the home people who were inciting the police to arrest them. It is of great significance that those who were arrested, came

from the four winds and represented all tribal groups. Some have dubbed them ‘Nga Taniwha o Nga Hau e Wha’ and surely what they represented is the combined strength of Maoridom waiting in protest against injustice. This was brought home to all the alleged offenders, when after being taken all over the countryside, they returned to the Marae to receive a hero’s welcome from the old people. The actions of the police and the court hearing the following day revealed once again the racist nature of these institutions and their complete disregard and concern for Maori institutions.

Each time the police approached the people on the Urupa, they were welcomed on to that sacred place. Their ignorance was such that they thought they were being belittled and humiliated. Similarly, in Court the following day, when those arrested sang a hymn — appropriately ‘TAMA NGAKAU MARIE,’ the Magistrate thought we were indulging in some kind of meaningless protest and said that kinds of performance would do our cause more harm than good. What all others to this dispute must remember, is the Maori Proverb — HE KURA KAINGA E HOKIA HE KURA TANGATA E KORE E HOKIA — the treasure of land will persist, the treasures of man will not.