04/11/2024
On the 5th of November, 1881, 1600 armed constabulary and volunteers took part in the invasion of Parihaka, a settlement in Western Taranaki which had become the symbol of protest against the confiscation of MÄori land by british invading forces and become of concern to the government as a possible site for the reignition of MÄori opposition to pÄkeha 'progress'. the invasion was led by then native minister John Bryce who had previously described Parihaka as 'that headquarters of fanaticism and disaffectionā.
As they entered the village more than 2000 inhabitants of Parihaka sat quietly on the marae while their children greeted the force with waiata. they were given food, their horses were watered. they faced no resistance from those they arrested.
Leaders Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu KÄkahi were arrested without trial and exiled from Parihaka for 16 months. During this time they were taken on an enforced tour throughout the south island, designed to demonstrate the 'progress' and 'power' of pÄkeha society. They were reportedly entirely unimpressed by what they witnessed.
In the aftermath of the invasion, the prosperous village of Parihaka was systematically razed, homes were looted and burnt, crops destroyed and livestock slaughtered.
The people of Parihaka were forcibly driven out and left homeless, facing a bleak future of extreme hardship,the settlement was virtually wiped out of existence; maps were redrawn and history was redefined in the attempt to obliterate the memory of the invasion of Parihaka and the mistreatment of its inhabitants.
Many of the women and children of Parihaka had no option but to follow those arrested to Åtepoti.
21 of those taken from Parihaka died in Åtepoti, forced into labour and buried in unmarked paupers graves in the northern cemetary.
Te Whiti and Tohu were allowed to return to Parihaka in 1883.
āJust as night is the bringer of day, so too is death and struggle the bringer of lifeā
- Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu KÄkahi