Wrongly hanged Maori chief to be acknowledged

An unusual step is being taken to restore the mana of a Maori chief wrongfully hanged for a murder in the 1800s.

The Government will tomorrow sign an agreement to create a special law to formally acknowledge a formal pardon of Whakatohea Maori chief Mokomoko.

Carl Volkner, a German-born missionary, was hanged from a tree near his Opotiki church in 1865 when he was suspected of being a government spy by followers of a new religion, Pai Marire.

Mokomoko was among five falsely accused and executed for the murder before Kereopa Te Rau, a Pai Marire follower, was found guilty and executed in 1871.

In addition to the wrongful death sentences, the Government confiscated and sold off tens of thousands of acres of land in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Mokomoko maintained his innocence until his death, and in 1992 then Justice Minister Doug Graham apologised to Whakatohea for the land seizures, and officially pardoned Mokomoko and three of his co-accused.

The Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act 1988 incorporated three of the pardons in statute, but Mokomoko was not included because he came from a different iwi.

Mokomoko's family has sought to have his pardon recorded in the same way, and tomorrow Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples will sign an agreement for separate legislation to "restore the character, mana and reputation of Mokomoko".

The signing will take place at the whanau's marae at Waiaua, east of Opotiki, where Dr Sharples will apologise for the way the pardon was granted.

He will then visit Mokomoko's grave near the marae.

Karen Mokomoko, a fifth-generation direct descendant, told APNZ the legislation would go a long way to healing wounds of the past.

"After his death, the burden of the land confiscations lay with his family, so this legislation will restore its mana," she said.

-APNZ