Parihaka

Most people probably associate the 5th of November with Guy Fawkes but this date also marks a significant event in New Zealand history - the Invasion of Parihaka.

The Taranaki settlement of Parihaka had grown in the wake of the land wars of the 1860s and by the 1870s was the largest Māori village in the country. This self-sufficient community was made up of Māori who had become dispossessed during the land conflicts and was led by two prophets; Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi.

In the face of further Government confiscations of land, this time around the Parihaka settlement, these men led their followers in a campaign of passive resistance and civil disobedience that involved tactics such as building fences across lands and roads, and removing pegs that had been placed by Government surveyors.

Often those who were caught engaging in these activities were arrested and imprisoned without trial in South Island prisons in Dunedin, Lyttelton (Ripapa Island) and Hokitika. Here they were used as labour on projects like the building of Dunedin’s harbour walls. In Dunedin the harsh conditions under which they were jailed meant that many of these prisoners died, mainly from tuberculosis. The last of those taken prisoner would eventually be released in 1898.

In response to the non-violent resistance of the Parihaka community, on the morning of 5 November 1881 1500 militia and armed constabulary invaded the settlement where they were greeted by singing children and 2000 peaceful residents who did not resist either invasion or arrest. Over the course of two weeks, the army demolished the settlement and eventually all crops and livestock were also destroyed.

The Christchurch Connection

The leaders Tohu and Te Whiti were exiled for two years. During that time they were interred at Addington gaol and would visit the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills, Christchurch Railway workshops, Christchurch Cathedral and Museum in an attempt by officials to show them the advanced technology and "power of the pakeha".

Christchurch man Harry Ell, who was most notable for his involvement in creating the Summit Road, was part of the armed constabulary that invaded Parihaka in 1881.

The Legacy of Parihaka

The invasion of Parihaka eventually came to be seen as a black day in New Zealand history and a symbol of injustice. It has been an inspiration for works by New Zealand artists, writers and musicians, most famously Tim Finn’s song Parihaka. Today Parihaka is the site of an annual international peace festival.

Further information and works about Parihaka:

Ask that mountain : the story of Parihaka

Dick Scott

Days of darkness : Taranaki, 1878-1884

Hazel Riseborough

The New Zealand wars : a history of the Maori campaigns and the pioneering period

James Cowan. The chapter on the Invasion of Parihaka available online

Parihaka : the art of passive resistance

Edited by Te Miringa Hohaia, Gregory O’Brien and Lara Strongman

Photographs of Parihaka Pa and invading forces

From Timeframes - National Library of New Zealand

Wanderings with the Maori prophets, Te Whiti and Tohu (with illustrations of each chief) : being reminiscences of a twelve months’ companionship with them, from their arrival in Christchurch in April, 1882, until their return to Parihaka in March, 1883

John P Ward

Te Whiti o Rongomai of Parihaka as seen by his contemporaries

Days of darkness : Taranaki, 1878-1884

Hazel Riseborough

Parihaka festival

Site also features information on the History of Parihaka

The Raid upon Parihaka

Chapter XX in History of New Zealand, Vol. III. by George William Rusden

The Taranaki frontier and the expedition to Parihaka

The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Volume II: The Hauhau Wars, 186472 by James Cowan