For years now, people who should know better have been spreading misinformation about Ihumātao. Now that a deal has been made, it’s time to set the record straight on some of these repeated falsehoods.
Didn’t ‘the iwi’ sell the land in the first place?
Nope, the block of land named the Ōruarangi block was stolen by the government in 1865. The 81 acre block was then granted to the Wallace family in 1867, who sold the land to Fletcher Residential in 2016.
The block was part of more than 1.2 million acres of confiscated land, stretching from Auckland through King Country under the New Zealand Settlements Act, that allowed the confiscation of land belonging to any tribe who were judged to have rebelled against the Queen’s authority. This breached the Treaty of Waitangi. At Ihumātao, 1,100 acres were confiscated. 260 acres were eventually restored to Māori deemed not to have engaged in acts of ‘rebellion’ against the Crown. Ihumātao is stolen land.
Video 2: COMING SOON, mass messages of support from near and afar, if you would like to be apart of that chain of support send a 5 second clip with your message of support on piece of paper or verbally.
WHY ARE WE SILENCED? WHY ARE WE STRESSED? WHY DON’T WE MATTER? WHAT HAPPENED TO WHANAU? WHAT ABOUT THE PAST? WHATS HAPPENING TO THE PRESENT? WHAT ABOUT OUR FUTURE? WHY DO YOUS DO THIS TO US?
DO WHAT IS RIGHT BY OUR PEOPLE FOR OUR PEOPLE?
WE NEED HOMES NOT HOMELE$$….
LAND NOT LANDLESS…..
MANA NOT MONEY….
OUR LAND OUR FUTURE….
WE ARE NOT FOR $ALE….
WHY DO WE HAVE TO ALWAYS FIGHT TO PROTECT WHATS OURS, WHY DO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS WHEN THE RIGHT IS OURS, WHY DO WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OUR IDENTITY, WHY DO WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OUR SANITY, WHY DO WE HAVE TO ALWAYS PUT UP THE FIGHT WHEN THE RIGHTS ARE OURS.
THE CORRUPTION NEVER ENDS, NO MORE SUGAR COATING LET IT BE KNOWN.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
NOTE FROM EWR: the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust is saying the properties in question are ‘surplus to needs’ yet there are over a hundred whānau on a waiting list for housing. These homes have been boarded up & vacant for up to two years. (A familiar story throughout NZ … while the so called ‘authorities’ twiddle their thumbs & purse their lips wondering why we have 43K homeless in our land, and pretend to try and fix it? Remember the Tamaki exposé by Penny Bright? Nearly 3K homes land banked by the Nats for greedy property developers. That now dirty word. I’ve heard the same scenario in the Wellington region, people evicted & their homes boarded up, still now homeless, see below)
Land banked homes in the Wellington district … some folk evicted from state homes, boarded up for years whilst the previous occupants remain homeless
Bastion Point and the protest from the ’70s is mentioned in the video. Here is that story FYI … watch at nzonscreen ‘BASTION POINT – THE UNTOLD STORY’: In 1977 protesters occupied Bastion Point, after the announcement of a housing development on land once belonging to Ngāti Whātua. 506 days later police and army arrived en masse to remove them. This documentary examines the rich and tragic history of Bastion Point/ Takaparawhau — including how questionable methods were used to gradually take the land from Māori, while basic amenities were withheld from those remaining. The documentary features extensive interviews with protest leader Joe Hawke, and footage from seminal documentary Bastion Point Day 507.
And the land grabs continue….if you’re not up to speed with the shameful Bastion Point story here is a NZ OnScreen documentary … information you won’t have learned at school:
Also, from ngatiwhatuaorakei’s website (go there for pertinent commemoration info):
BASTION POINT OCCUPATION TO BE COMMEMORATED ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Forty years ago, after 506 days of occupation, protesters faced off with members of the police, armed forces and the government over plans to build luxury housing on Ngāti Whātua ancestral land at Takaparawhau/Bastion Point, resulting in 222 arrests.
On Friday 25 May, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will mark the 40th anniversary of what has been called a defining moment in New Zealand history.
“Forty years ago, after 506 days of occupation, protesters faced off with members of the police, armed forces and the government over plans to build luxury housing on Ngāti Whātua ancestral land at Takaparawhau/Bastion Point, resulting in 222 arrests.”
On Friday 25 May, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will mark the 40th anniversary of what has been called a defining moment in New Zealand history.
This year, the commemoration honours those who took part in the occupation; providing an opportunity to further reflect on the efforts of those who strove for Treaty settlement and a better future for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
The stand at Bastion Point is a prevailing benchmark for protest in Aotearoa, which led to the first successful retrospective claim hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal. It is a move that Joe Hawke, leader of the 1977 protest, has never regretted.
“I went onto the Point, not to invite an arrest, but to arrest a wrong, and 40 years on, all of Ngāti Whātua are benefiting from that stand”, he said.
Joe will be part of the events planned for Friday 25 May that commemorate that struggle, foster reconciliation and re-affirm Ngāti Whātua’s footprint on the land in Auckland.
As always, corporations wage war on pesky indigenous people who require land to live on … land under which valuable resources sit ready for the taking. And as always the profits from those resources never return to the people. That is the way of corporations. And the corrupt governments that are in bed with them lie to fool the people as to their real motives. Australia has an appalling human rights record which is swept right under the rug. Australian born journalist John Pilger however frequently supplies us with an insight into what is really going on there and the latest rounds are nothing to do with the government’s inability to sustain the ‘lifestyle choices’ (choices?!) of Aboriginal people. It has everything to do with mining by corporations. These people are our cousins and they are just across the ditch. Their life expectancy is one of the lowest on earth!
Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory, central Australia
Read the article by Pilger:
“Australia has again declared war on its Indigenous people, reminiscent of the brutality that brought universal condemnation on apartheid South Africa. Aboriginal people are to be driven from homelands where their communities have lived for thousands of years. In Western Australia, where mining companies make billion dollar profits exploiting Aboriginal land, the state government says it can no longer afford to “support” the homelands.
Vulnerable populations, already denied the basic services most Australians take for granted, are on notice of dispossession without consultation, and eviction at gunpoint. Yet again, Aboriginal leaders have warned of “a new generation of displaced people” and “cultural genocide”.
Emma Donovan & The PutBacks feat. Tim Rogers & Joelistics – Blackfella Whitefella
“This release supports the massive grassroots movement led by SOS Blak Australia, an organization dedicated to supporting Aboriginal communities in remote Western Australia currently under threat of closure.
Earlier this year SOS Blak Australia issued a worldwide call to action to stop these closures occurring. In response to this, Emma and all the artists involved have come together to declare that they stand with the Indigenous people of Australia in support of their right to self-determination on their traditional lands. All involved have donated their time free of charge and all proceeds from the record go to SOS Blak Australia…”
For a complete unfudged history of the First Australians, watch the video series of that name …’The First Australians’, a heart rending tale of oppression and cruelty. You may find episode one on Youtube, there are 5 or 6 more episodes you can purchase online. You may if you search, find sites you can rent from.
