KEY POINTS:
It is 30 years since the bulldozers and army trucks loaded with police arrived at Bastion Pt to clear away the tent and plywood town of protest that had become a symbol for hope, or a blight on society, depending on your perspective.
Looking back, my first thought
is what an honour it was to be a part of the occupation. What an honour being a member of a larger group, that initially was just whanau in Ngati Whatua o Orakei, and was then joined by supporters - Maori, Pacific Islanders and Pakeha - who came to right a wrong.
As my brother Joe says, we were not there to be arrested, we were there to arrest a wrong, and we did that.
The occupation didn't start auspiciously or quickly. While the threat of the development of Bastion Pt had been around for a while, we tried other avenues before deciding that we had no choice.
Even then, when we had decided to stay, there was nothing too much to see. Eventually someone put up an old tent. And then we needed a cuppa so we put in a fire pit and it just grew. Eventually there were two camps of around 1000 people in the summer days. People were tapping into the city water lines and built a collection of little houses as time went by. In winter the numbers dropped but the determination stayed.
At times it was festival-like. We made good long lasting friendships forged in protest. At other times it was dark and painful.
Little did those people who were at Bastion Pt know that our struggle would be seen in historical terms as a catalyst for so much change, particularly in the area of Treaty settlements and land rights.
I would like to think it has led to so much more. Prior to that time Ngati Whatua o Orakei had little left to show for its once dominant position in Tamaki Makaurau. It was Ngati Whatua chief Apihai Te Kawau who had invited Governor Hobson to set up his capital city in Auckland prior to 1840. And yet here we were in 1977 with the Muldoon Government and the Auckland City Council driving a process to make Bastion Pt available for residential subdivision. That was the straw that could have broken our people.
Today, however, we see so much that is positive. Ngati Whatua o Orakei is recognised as being part of the fabric of Auckland. Around 15,000 people are hosted at our marae every year.
We have been able to build comfortable housing for our old people. We have been able to put in place scholarship programmes that have led to the education level of our young people being so much higher than their parents' generation. We have so many smart young people out in the world doing wonderful, interesting things. Our Taumata, our kaumatua group, is strong and provides wise counsel. Right now they are preparing for the upcoming visit by the Maori King.
Ngati Whatua o Orakei is recognised in the wider Auckland community as being a positive contributor. We now have good constructive relationships with Auckland City Council, the Government and all manner of other institutions from the University of Auckland to the Ports Of Auckland to the Museum that we also jointly advise. Of course it is a lot more formal now.
In the old days Auckland's Mayor, Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, used to come up to see our chief Tommy Downs for a cup of tea.
Importantly, for the past decade we have jointly managed Bastion Pt for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
It is a wonderful place that I believe people of Auckland in a 100 years time will visit and be grateful that its vast views of the Waitemata are available to all.
Our 507 days on Bastion Pt will always carry some angst for some. For me none of the gains can take away the loss of our daughter Joannie and that will always be the painful and lasting legacy of Bastion Pt as well. She died in a tragic fire and now a memorial for her stands on Bastion Pt.
That memorial is, in fact, the only structure that was left standing that day back in 1978 when the police and army came. We will be restoring that memorial in the summer so that in 100 years time our memories of her will be still have a point where they attach to the earth. I hope people go and visit Joannie's memorial too as she is now part of the historical tapestry of Auckland.
After 30 years I believe the commemorations will be positive.
For me it will be a time to catch up with old friends and remember the spirit of the time and to honour those who were with us at the Point and have passed away since then.
As I look at old photographs of those days I see as many as a third of those faces have passed on, including my Mum and Dad.
We will also have the opportunity to thank those thousands of people and hundreds of communities around the country that gave us support.
It didn't begin with the Bastion Pt occupation and it didn't end there. Our families were fighting eviction from down at Okahu Bay for decades before we went on to the Point to stop that development.
After the clearance it took a further two years of court action before the charges against most of us were dropped.
It took more time to find the finances to put a Waitangi Tribunal case together; we then had to go through the tribunal before we got the result we wanted.
We led the way for many other tribes to follow and ultimately Bastion Pt was the pressure point that forced the government to change the way it dealt with Maori.
The protesters and whanau weren't the only ones there. There were police, the armed services, media and government officials. They will all have a story to tell and perhaps now is a good time to tell those stories.
On Sunday, the day of commemoration, Sir Paul Reeves will lead a service, with senior police and army, as well as many people now in leadership roles in the country - many of them who were with us at the Point.
While we still have a long way to go, we might use this time to stop and reflect on how far we have come.
