Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei suffered significantly under colonisation but we have actively protested and resisted these injustices.
Here we give an example of the practice of colonisation at Ōkahu Bay and how we resisted at Takaparawhau.
Despite our ancestors’ generosity, and the rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, our lands were diminished from 80,000 acres in 1840 to a one-quarter-acre urupā (cemetery) at Ōkahu by 1980.
In 1910, a sewer pipe was laid along the beach in front of our Ōkahu papakāinga (village), and raw sewage was discharged into our bay. Tāmaki Drive was later built over this sewer line.
Then, in 1951-2, the residents of the papakāinga (village) were forcibly evicted, and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s last settlement was burned down to ‘tidy’ the area for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II.
Takaparawhau (also known as Bastion Point) was taken by the Crown for defensive purposes in 1885. However, the land was never used. We actively resisted government attempts in 1976 to sell this land for wealthy housing. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei occupied Takaparawhau for 506 days in 1977-78, until forcibly removed by police. Our land at Takaparawhau was finally returned to us in 1988.
Did you know?
In 2011 the Crown apologised to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei “for its acts and omissions which have breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi [that] resulted in the virtual landlessness of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei [which] has had devastating consequences for the social, cultural, economic, spiritual and physical well-being of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei that continue to be felt today.”
Ngāti Whātua Orakei Deed of Settlement with the Crown was signed in 2011, gaining cultural, financial and commercial redress. This is the current settlement of all the historical claims of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei resulting from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is a thriving hapū (tribal group) with significant cultural, economic, environmental and political interests in this city.
