Parihaka and Local Connections
The 5th of November is known as Te Rā o te Pāhua (the Day of Plunder) as it was on this date in 1881 that armed constabulary and militia led by the Native Minister John Bryce invaded the pacifist settlement of Parihaka. Bryce ordered the arrest of Parihaka’s leaders, the destruction of much of the village, and the dispersal of most of its inhabitants. This awful event was preceded by years of resistance to the confiscation of Māori land in Taranaki. Between 1869 and 1881, around 200 men were sent from Taranaki to Ōtepōti Dunedin for imprisonment and forced labour. In 1882, the leaders of Parihaka Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi were themselves taken to Ōtepōti during their imprisonment and exile in the South Island.
Kohikohika Motuhake Heritage Collections has a variety of books on this subject. Below we’ve collated a handful of our favourites. These can be viewed on the third floor of the Dunedin City Library. There are also lending copies of some of these titles.
The Parihaka Story (1954) and Ask that Mountain: The story of Parihaka (1975) by Dick Scott
Historian Dick Scott wrote The Parihaka Story about twenty years before his influential text Ask That Mountain: The Story of Parihaka was published. His interest was first piqued while flicking through an old law report tome. In an interview with Puke Ariki in 2003 Scott said, “In the middle of it, suddenly there was this place called Parihaka and I didn't know where they were talking of.” He set about piecing together what happened at Parihaka through talking to people who had been there as children and immersing himself in historical archives. This book was generally not well received when it came out and was even banned in some schools in Taranaki. Fortunately, interest in Scott’s almost entirely forgotten book was rekindled in the 1970s and this led to the publication of Ask That Mountain and an increased public awareness of the events that occurred in Parihaka in the 1800s.
Parihaka: the art of passive resistance (2001) edited by Te Miringa Hohaia, Gregory O'Brien, and Lara Strongman
Parihaka: The Art of Passive Resistance was published following an exhibition of the same name held at City Gallery Wellington during the summer of 2000 and 2001. It brings together over 120 years of art depicting the story of Parihaka and the events and people connected to it. This lush publication also includes photographs, and essays and poetry by leading Māori and Pākehā writers.
Salutory Punishment: Taranaki Māori prisoners in Dunedin 1869-72 and 1879-81 (2019) by Ian Church
Around 200 Taranaki Māori were sent to Ōtepoti in the late 1800s as punishment for resisting the confiscation of Māori land: a group of Pakakohi men from south Taranaki from 1869 to 1872, and two groups of Parihaka ploughmen and fencers of various iwi from 1879 to 1881. Sites worked on by the prisoners include roads on either side of the Otago Harbour, the Anderson’s Bay causeway, the old Botanic Gardens (now University of Otago grounds), and the old Boy’s High School (now Otago Girl High School). 18 of the Taranaki prisoners died in Ōtepoti and memorials honouring them can be found at Andersons Bay and the southern and northern cemeteries. Salutory Punishment, the last book written by historian Ian Church, presents the facts about these prisoners, their crimes, their treatment, and the work they undertook.
Te iwi herehere : nga mau herehere Torangapu = Political prisoners : the story of the Maori prisoners from Taranaki in Otago, 1869-1882(2002) Dunedin Public Art Gallery
This is a bound copy of the information panels included in an exhibition that was held at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2002. It presents the story of the Māori political prisoners from Taranaki in Otago 1869-1882 in an easily digestible way. It explores connections between Otago and Taranaki iwi, as well as describing the prisoners’ experiences and legacy in Otago.
Wanderings with the Maori prophets, Te Whiti & 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 by John Ward
During Te Rā o te Pāhua, the leaders of Parihaka Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi were arrested and eventually sent into exile in Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island). An Australian-born Irishman named John P Ward was appointed as interpreter and personal jailer to Te Whiti and Tohu. They spent about a year travelling around Te Wai Pounamu, including 18 days in Ōtepōti Dunedin in the winter of 1882. Ward later produced this unreliable but colourful account of their journey. Despite possible inaccuracies, Wanderings with the Maori Prophets is still a valuable historical document that sheds light on the Māori struggle against colonialism.
