Land struggle in the north

Land is concerning more and more people. Many want to return to the land and grow on their own piece of earth. Te Karanga a Te Kotuku records the current struggle of Maoris in the far north of New Zealand to keep their land. Many people think the great grab of Maori land stopped last century, but in fact it is still going on. The introduction, letters and poems in this book speak of the "turangawaewae" of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hapua, their place to stand, their home-ground, a place that has meaning far deeper than connotated by the Pakeha word "land".

The struggle in the Te Hapua area of the Far North is for the right of the local people to develop their own land for the benefit of all the Maori owners and their children. This battle is shown through the persistent correspondence of Saana. Her perserverence shows that control of what is rightfully yours is possible but the difficulties are also clearly seen.

Chapters 12 and 16 focus on some difficulties. The Maori Land Court is an important factor in Maori control of Maori things. The reports of these land courts with Pakeha judges and consulting lawyers' letters give a clue to how the law operates and for whom it works. A mineral development company has little trouble obtaining access to tribal land, yet the Te Hapua Incorporations Management Committee has difficulty in getting an elected member accepted by the court. Although the detail in some of the legal correspondence is dense you can see examples of how the economic and social set-up is enforced.

Paternalism in Maori land control is not too harsh a charge when a judge states "the jurisdiction exercised by the Maori Land Court has been of the nature of that of a guardian....consistent with the Court's quasi-parental jurisdiction." A Land Court judge's decision destroys the legitimate viewpoint of Incorporation shareholders' by removing a democratically elected committee member. The appendix on the Maori Land Court draws conclusions that can be seen as you get into the book.

The book does not focus just on land and the courts. The letters reveal how the owners plans and wishes for their land arose as a response to inadequate consultation. The rejection of the Crowns proposals for Te Hapua and the desire for a self sufficient community are documented. There are contrasts between media reports and other sources. For what the press writes up as lost progress Te Hapua people saw differently. Saana writes "the general argument between shareholders is the possible repetition of Te Paki's 100 year old lease, which ended in the sale of our Tupuna's land with no records of compensation for the descendants who are now in grave danger of losing the land to the Crown for another 100 year lease, because of lack of finance, despite the fact that Te Paki was sold for $240,000."

The real feeling over land and the differences between Te Hapua people over Crown proposals is captured in a simple yet effective poem "Prelude to a Feud". The Crown's proposals started many changes. From 1969 to 1972 Saana kept up correspondence about change in Te Hapua. Her stubborn belief in the people's ability to control their own land is matched by the uniformity of Governmental replies. Her strong beliefs, based in her Ratana religion, can be contrasted with many monotonous answers. Throughout her letters there runs a thread of aroha, a concern for people above things. Her concern began with family land, a love that is different from a nuclear family and their land. Then "somehow I've had the feeling that my mothers dying vows," (to preserve the land of her past and present) "meant more than uniting my family for I had to unite my people before we could dissolve the Crown proposal."

Mangapiko in Takapaukara — the great rock look-out in Tom Bowling Bay

A curt reply from Jack Marshall prompted a letter to Tama Te Kapua Poata. The letter was on Maori land control as were many before and many after. "They say just so much because it's a subject that will change the whole way of life in this country. Guess it's a matter of who's moulding who's destiny, but we were here first so we'll lead our own people and set up our own establishment."

Maori control of Maori land and Maori things is stressed in letters. It is not stressed in newspaper reports or official replies. For Saana Maori control of land is based in tradition and yet is realistiec for now. The preface by Tama Te Kapua Poata, Secretary of the Maori Organisation on Human Rights, makes a strong case for Maori control of Maori land. The letters and documents in the book speak for themselves on this central issue. Afterall whose land is it?

Saana Murrary

This question is raised frequently. The Treaty of Waitangi is discussed. The poem 'Take the Lead' in chapter 11 is a clear statement of this issue. The correspondence and a part of the appendix "Conflicting Views on the Treaty of Waitangi" tell it like the school history teacher never did.

The Treaty is where it all began. The relationships between Maori land and Pakeha power has changed since then. There is a continuity and that is the Europcanisation that was and is forced on Maoris. There is no need for the book to preach this view. It simply presents the letters, which are often chatty, sometimes formal and we judge. The book follows the often intricate problems and again we judge and see Europcanisation at work. The struggle of Saana and the Te Hapua owners is a reaction to this Europeanisation. The book shows the problems of Pakeha legislation and land and illuminates positive alternatives.

The 220 pages that this book comprises are something of a milestone. The book has been independently produced with voluntary labour, the only expense being the cost of printing and paper. It justifies its existence as a recording of present and past history and as a symbol of the action that any person or group of people can take to struggle against injustice. As well as documenting an ongoing land struggle it provides a rare insight into the way Maoris feel about Pakehas and Pakeha institutions. Finally, it is a book with a direction — it shows the desire of people for a more just and rewarding society, and shows at least some small part of the way people can fight for their beliefs.

The call of the white heron is a positive call. The call of hope when so many people and so much land is alienated can be heard. The land, the culture and the people of a part of NZ speak through the poems, photographs, graphics and words of Te Karanga a te Kotuku.

—Stephen Hall