Editorial: Time to face injustice of colonial past

I WAS not the only one close to tears as the Peace Walk neared Parihaka Pa on Friday.

We heard sounds of welcome from the pa as we filed through trees toward the marae. What set us off was the thought of what these people and their forebears had been through, and yet they could still welcome us.

It was great to be among an estimated 500 who think Maori should have a decent say in what goes on in Taranaki, and New Zealand.

We thought a Maori ward for New Plymouth City Council was the least that could be done to make things right.

I was thinking about how the Land Wars played out in Whanganui - the Battle of Moutoa, hangings on Pukenamu/Queen's Park, the Gilfillan massacre, the advance and retreat of Titokowaru, thousands of soldiers massed here to cement land gains. It could have been yesterday.

Just last month, a woman was in tears during a talk about settler, soldier and politician John Bryce. He was present at the 1868 Handley's woolshed incident where one of her ancestors, a child, was killed or injured by cavalry volunteers.

I read an account of how New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd came to realise the depth of Maori grievance in his region. He talked about his limited contact with Maori before he became mayor, and his amazement when he read the history of contested Waitara land.

I was reminded of watching a similar transformation in a former Whanganui councillor, the late John Lithgow, after he became a member of the Pakaitore/Moutoa Gardens board.

Maori need to have a decent say in local and central government, and New Zealanders need to know more about colonial history - the Land Wars in particular.

A national day to remember them has been suggested. Perhaps it could be November 5, the day in 1881 when 1600 police and volunteers attacked the peaceful settlement of Parihaka.