Local land war day backed but national day defended

Te Aitanga a Mahaki Trust chairman Pene Brown

TE Aitanga a Mahaki Trust chairman Pene Brown says Raa Maumahara National Day of Commemoration, designed to help people to learn about the New Zealand Land Wars, should be retained.

Mr Brown, a trustee of Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa, was responding to Ikaroa-Rawhti MP and Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri who said she preferred “a local day of history” to commemorate Turanga’s land wars.

Raa Maumahara National Day of Commemoration was first held last year in Northland and will rotate to a different region each year.

Anne Tolley, Deputy Speaker of the House, has a different view.

“I don’t think a rolling ‘national’ commemoration is sufficient to recognise a significant time in New Zealand’s history and its consequences,” she said.

Mr Brown said Te Aitanga a Mahaki agreed with the significance of the episodes of conflict that erupted here and welcomed the considerations expressed by Minister Whaitiri.

“We also note that the whole country was under threat by the colonial powers of the day. Their actions of abuse of power were forced on all Maori and Turanga was not just a reaction by savages in one part of the country.

“Minister Whaitiri is correct in that Raa Maumahara is a poor attempt at acknowledging what took place at those difficult times, but it is a start and for Te Aitanga a Mahaki, who whakapapa to many of these other incidents, a national day of shame is still important.”

Mrs Tolley said she had witnessed many Treaty of Waitangi settlements over her years in Parliament.

“Each one is different, each one is significant and each one has taken years, decades in some cases, to negotiate and reach a conclusion.

“Above all, I have learned they are deeply personal.”

“I agree (with Mrs Whaitiri) that only local stories and local chronicles can best reflect a community’s history.”

Ms Whaitiri suggested November 15, the day the siege of Waerenga a Hika started in 1865, was an appropriate day to commemorate Turanga’s land wars.

Raa Maumahara National Day of Commemoration is held on October 28, the date in 1835 when the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand (He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tirene) was signed.

Mrs Whaitiri was asked if there were any plans to host Raa Maumahara National Day of Commemoration in this district and replied that she preferred a local day of history.