Traversing Auckland as part of the TA brings me out south of the city near Ihumātao, near the airport, at Mangere. There is an ongoing land protest at this site. The trail notes get updated from time to time when there is an increase in activity and hikers are advised to detour.
Land rights?
Protests?
The hell with detours. I want to speak with people and expand my understanding. Land rights. This is important.
I wasn’t sure if, as an outsider, I would be welcomed but people here are just amazing. After a quick intro and yarning about what I’m up to, they understand I have a genuine interest in the rights of First Nations peoples and land rights in particular. I wasn’t hanging around just to have a look.
I spent time with a really passionate woman who talked me through the history of the land and what they hope to achieve.
Ihumātao used to be a Maori village, believed to be first settled in the 14th century where people farmed and thrived.
In 1863, the land was taken during the invasion of the Waikato (and in doing so, breached the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi).
A few decades later, the Crown sold the land to a private owner, whose descendants then kept ownership for more than a century.
In 2012, Auckland Council moved to make the land public space but this was challenged and the council was directed to rezone the land (meaning the land could now be developed).
The land was subsequently sold to developers. People gathered to protest development of the site and a whare (Maori hut/house) and pou whenua installed. Pou whenua are carved wooden posts used by Maori to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance.
From about 2016, people from the community started camping or living at the site, to protest again the proposed housing development.
And then in April 2017, these resilient campaigners took the fight to the UN, hoping for an intervention.
The subsequent UN Report recognized that consultation and consent was not adequately sought and recommended the NZ government evaluate compliance with the Treaty of Waitangi and the UNDRIP (to which NZ is a signatory).
Later, a hikoi (protest march) delivered to the Auckland mayor a petition with 20,000 signatures calling for protection of the land.
Interestingly, to me anyhow, is how the people committed to protecting this land are comprised of both Maori people and people from the wider community, who have come together as one group, SOUL (Save Our Unique Landscape).
As a collective, they believe that having a SHA in Ihumātao will not contribute to making a more liveable city, but would destroy a significant and unique historical, cultural, spiritual, social and environmental space.
The ask here is that the whenua (land) be returned to mana whenua to be held for the benefit of all the people of Aotearoa. (Traditionally, Mana whenua refers to Māori territorial rights and the power associated with possession and occupation of tribal land.)
Reflecting on the conversations today brought me back to the Tapestry of Understanding, at the Te Kongahu Museum of Waitangi. It takes all of us, together, connected, to bring about change and to acknowledge and learn from the past.
My sincere thanks to the people living this fight and their generosity, patience and time in helping me to today to better understand.
Ihumātao.
The fight goes on.
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