New Zealand formally apologised yesterday for the Taranaki land wars, one of the darkest episodes in its 163-year history.
The wars were fought in the early 1860s by white settlers trying to force Maori tribes off their land in the south-west of North Island.
Although the 1840 treaty of Waitangi, viewed as New Zealand’s founding national document, had guaranteed Maori land rights, settlers turned to violence when the Ngati Ruanui people refused to sell their land.
Nearly 200 Maori and dozens of settlers were killed in the conflicts, and by the early 1880s the crown had confiscated some 1,3-million acres (520 000 hectares) of land and expelled 1 800 Maori.
The crown apologised for its actions, ”which have resulted in the loss of life during the Taranaki wars and the virtual landlessness of Ngati Ruanui in Taranaki, and have caused suffering and hardship to Ngati Ruanui over the generations to the present day”.
The apology forms part of settlement negotiations started in the 1990s. Under the deal, 15 000 Maori will share land and £16-million (about $26-million) cash.
But not all Maori are happy. Noel Kotlowski, head of the Hapotiki Hapu trust, which represents one tribal grouping, said many had been excluded from talks.
”Words on paper aren’t going to make up for the loss of land here. This is still recent history and people don’t forget so easily.” – Guardian Unlimited Â