DE FACTO GOVERNMENT ATTACK ON THE MAORI NATION

1841

• Land Settlements Act: Lands not actually physically occupied by Maori were deemed to belong to the pretender crown. This was in direct contravention of Articles 2 and 3.

 
1844

• Governor Fitzroy removes the British Crown right of pre-emption. With the removal of the pre-emption clause Fitroy sanctions the illegal right of land purchase to settlers. Fitroy was later removed for financial mis-management.

 
1846

• Governor Grey abolishes the Protectorate Department giving Edward Gibbon Wakefields of the New Zealand Land Company the exclusive right of pre-emption in breach of Article 3.  By 1852 in just 12 years the pretender crown had illegally claimed over 32,000,000 acres of Maori Customary Land. Nearly half of all land “owned” by Maori had been claimed in a pretender crown, legally sanctioned land grab.

 
1852

• New Zealand Constitution Act  The establishment of Provincial Government in New Zealand.  Maori right to self-governance was defined under Section 71 of the Act.  Provision for Maori Self Governance was and is still ignored. 

 
1859

• The illegal purchase of Ngati Awa land by Governor Grey in breach of Article 2 of Te Tiriti.  By 1860 only 21,000,000 of the original 66,400,000 acres of Maori Customary Land was left unclaimed by colonialists.

 
1862

• Native Lands Act was designed to break down communal ownership of land, the legacy of which we are paying for now. Maori Customary Land ownership had become so fragmented it is of little use to most owners. It is this situation which was not redressed until Te Ture Whenua Maori, the Maori Land Court Act 1993.

1863

• The Suppression of Rebellion Act. The attempt of removal of Maori right to trial under the Habeus Corpus Act.  Maori were imprisoned for defending their land ownership rights. Another 3,000,000 acres land grab claim was punishment for rebelling against the Government.

 
1864

• All remaining land reserved for Maori was placed under Government control.

 
1865

• Native Land Court.  Maori were forced to wait months to appear before the Native Court to validate land claims. Failure to appear gave the Court the right to “confiscate” the land. Many Maori preferred to ignore pakeha claims rather than go through the humiliating process of having to appear in court to argue for land that was rightfully theirs.

 
1866

• Oyster Fisheries Act Prevented Maori from setting up Commercial Oyster Fisheries forcing most Maori Commercial fishing enterprises into bankruptcy.

 
1867

• Maori Representation Act.   Four Maori seats were established in Parliament. This was a response to Pakeha fears that Maori, who by this time had a majority under the property ownership qualification clause of the 1852 Constitution Act could gain a majority in Government.

 
1871

• Pretender Parliament stipulation that the English language had to be taught in all schools. This almost led to the extinction of the Maori Language. Maori children were routinely punished for speaking Maori at school or in hearshot of a Pakeha/ Tauiwi.

 
1877

• The Bishop of Wellington v Wi Parata – the infamous Prendergast decision. Judge Prendergast declares the Treaty to be a nullity believing Maori to be intellectually incapable of signing a Treaty. Another example of the Colonial arrogance that was rife at the time.

 
1879

• Greys amendment made it easier for small farmers to acquire Maori Customary Land.

1879

• Peace Preservation Bill. Maori were given 1 year hard labour for refusing to vacate their homes.

 
1880

• Maori Prisoners Act.  200 Maori imprisoned without trial for an indefinite period for attempting to prevent the surveying of what was termed “confiscated land”.

 
1880

• West Coast Settlements Act.  Taranaki Maori could be arrested without warrant and jailed for 2 years with hard labour for building anything or hindering the surveying of any property.

 
1881

• Native Reserves Act.  The control of  land reserved for Maori was vested in a corrupt Public Trustee.

 
1881

• Parihaka – The infamous invasion of Parihaka. 2500 troops attack the people of Parihaka and arrest the prophet Te Whiti.

 
1886

• Native Lands Administration Act.  The Pretender Parliament of the day rejects the traditional right of communal ownership forcing Maori Customary land to be placed in the hands of trustees who claimed they had the right to sell the land.

 
1886

• Te Whiti re-arrested under the West Coast Preservation  Act and jailed for 3 months without trial.

 
1887

• Native Land Act.  Bastion Point appropriated by crown pretenders for ‘defence’ purposes.

 
1893

• Native Land Purchase Act. This act was passed to speed up the further purchase of Maori Customary Land.

 
1894

• Advances to Settlers Act. Low interest loans made available to settlers to buy Maori Customary land from the Pretender Parliament. Loans for development of land and farms were not available to Maori.

• Validation of Invalid Land Claims Act. Any Pakeha misleadings concerning Maori Customary Land were legitimized.

• Maori Land Settlements Act. Maori Customary Land was placed under the control of Land Councils on which there was no Maori representation. The Pakeha population had increased along with their desire for land.

 
1897

• 92 Maori arrested and imprisoned for protesting against the Public Trustee control of their lands.

 
1903

• Pretender Parliament reaffirms Judge Prendergast's ruling on the nullity of the Treaty.

 
1905

• Native Councils abolished in order to speed up the Pretender Parliament land grab process.

 
1905-1908

• Three more years of amendments to the Native Land Act to force further sales of Maori Customary Land.

 
1908

• Tohunga Suppression Act.  Penalties imposed, including the threat of jail  and execution for any Maori Tohunga who practiced Rongoa Maori or who taught Maori spirituality.

 
1909

• Maori Health Act made it illegal for Maori women to breastfeed their babies.  Further the whangai system of Maori adoption was outlawed to prevent Maori from adopting, especially adopting Pakeha children.

 
1918

• WWI Maori returned servicemen were ineligible for the armed forces Rehabilitation Scheme. The scheme was only available to Pakeha.  By 1920 the New Zealand Government had claimed 62,000,000 acres of Maori Customary Land for Pakeha.

 
1953

• Maori Customary Land not being occupied or developed was declared waste land and confiscated by the Pretender Parliament.

• Town and Country Planning Act prevented Maori from building on their land forcing many Maori into the cities.

 
1960

• The Hunn Report.  Civil servant Jack Hunn recommends the speeding up of the assimilation process; a process which by its very nature would have seen the end of Maori as a culture and as a race. The establishment of Kohanga Reo in the 1970’s and the later emergence of Kurakaupapa Maori began the Maori Renaissance which subverted the assimilation agenda.

 
1967

• Maori Affairs Amendment Act gave the Maori Trustee the power to ask individuals to sell communal owned land to the Pretender Parliament. Land with fewer than 4 owners had to be put under 1 title.

 
1967

• Ratings Act. This act illegally made Maori Customary Land subject to tax rates.

 
1986

• Fisheries Quota System. The introduction of the fisheries quota system applied to Maori  breached article 2 of the Treaty.