Ngā tāone nui – Māori and the city

Māori visit overseas cities

Māori visit Sydney and London

New Zealand did not have even a nominal city until 1856, when Christchurch achieved city status. (Its population was only a few thousand.) By then, Sydney and London were well established as important cities for New Zealand.

Sydney – known to Māori as Poihākena (Port Jackson) – was a major trading centre and the port through which New Zealand accessed British goods and services, government officials and missionaries. London – Rānana – was the home of the British royal family and the political and cultural centre of the British Empire. Sydney and London were the two urban areas Māori travellers visited most frequently from the late 18th century. Both cities now have long histories of Māori visiting and relocating to them.

Māori and Sydney

From the late 18th century Māori travelled the world, often as crew on board ships. From the beginning of the 19th century Māori sought opportunities to trade with Sydney, and acquire new technologies and skills such as carpentry and gardening. Sydney was also the place where individual Māori met with British officials and missionaries. In 1804, for instance, Te Pahi, a chief of Rangihoua in the Bay of Islands, sent his son Maatara to Sydney to observe the British. The governor of New South Wales, Philip Gidley King, looked after Maatara and sent him home with tools and other gifts. In 1805 Te Pahi himself went to Sydney, where he stayed with King for several months. With his companions he learnt carpentry, gardening, weaving and spinning.

In 1805 another northern chief, Ruatara, set out to see the world. Working on whaling and sealing ships, he visited Sydney twice and in 1809 reached London but was not allowed ashore. After returning to Sydney in 1810, he stayed with the missionary Samuel Marsden at Parramatta for eight months. He did not return home to the Bay of Islands until 1812. Ruatara’s travels as a crew member were more fortunate than those of a Māori sailor on board the Atlantic, who was killed by lightning in Sydney Harbour in 1806.

In Sydney, Ruatara acquired eight muskets and borrowed a couple of pistols. Though significant at the time, his armoury would soon be outdone by Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika, who traded gifts he received in London for muskets, which were selling cheaply after being dumped on the Sydney market.

By the 1810s the Māori language could be heard on Sydney’s docks. By the 1840s an estimated 1,000 Māori had travelled overseas, with the majority going to Sydney, where their presence had become so common that it was no longer recorded. Sydney has remained an important city for Māori. By the early 21st century many Māori had migrated there, and Māori cultural activities and media thrived.

Māori in London

One of the first Māori to visit London was Moehanga of Ngāpuhi, in 1806. He was presented to King George III. Hongi Hika visited London in 1820 with another Ngāpuhi chief, Waikato and missionary Thomas Kendall. They helped with the compilation of a Māori alphabet and grammar, and Hongi met King George IV.

In 1846–47, Hoani Wiremu Hīpango helped protect the new town of Whanganui from attack by another iwi. Partly because of this, Hīpango accompanied missionary Richard Taylor on a visit to England in 1855. When he arrived in London, Hīpango had an audience with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Other Māori reported in London included Māui, or Tommy Drummond, who taught Sunday school ithere in 1816, and Tuai and Titeri, who visited in 1818. In 1863 there were two Māori performing groups in London at the same time.

For Māori, London was the cultural centre of the British Empire, and also the home of the queen, their partner in the Treaty of Waitangi. Māori visiting London hoped to, and often did, meet royalty.

London and Māori culture

When members of the British royal family have visited Rotorua, they have participated in a Māori cultural experience. In 1959 Māori in London set up the cultural group Ngāti Rānana (the London tribe). In the early 21st century, Ngāti Rānana was a thriving kapa haka group.

Cities and Māori land

Unfulfilled promise of trade

Land purchases were often justified to Māori on the basis that tribes would benefit from Pākehā settlement. Māori were eager to have access to the markets, new goods and technology that would result. Many were early entrepreneurs, feeding towns by trading produce. The sale of land usually meant that Māori were quickly displaced from towns, and when they lost their agricultural land they were replaced as suppliers of food to the cities. The four major centres became city corporations around the same time: Dunedin in 1865, Christchurch in 1868, Wellington in 1870 and Auckland in 1871.

Dunedin Māori

In 1844 Ngāi Tahu chiefs Taiaroa and Karetai agreed to the sale of the Otago block, opening the way for Pākehā settlement in the region. During the negotiations, reserves for boat landing places in the proposed town of Dunedin were agreed to. Setting aside 'tenths' (one-tenth of the land to be sold) was also discussed, but these were not recorded on the deed and were subsequently not given to Māori. Whalers and local Māori intermarried, but it was not long before the Māori population was severely affected by introduced diseases. Ngāi Tahu had hoped that settlement would see a continuation and development of commerce, but the loss of land and population decline meant that the tribe became a bit player as Dunedin grew from the late 1840s.

Christchurch Māori

Most of the Canterbury region was purchased from Ngāi Tahu by the government in 1848. A number of Ngāi Tahu chiefs signed a deed prepared by Commissioner Henry Tacy Kemp at Akaroa. Under the deed Ngāi Tahu were allowed to retain their settlements, and certain areas were reserved for them. However, when the land was surveyed many of the reserves were ignored or reduced in size. The failure to ensure that Ngāi Tahu received its reserves was an important aspect of the Ngāi Tahu claim to the Waitangi Tribunal in 1986. As in Dunedin, the loss of land undermined Ngāi Tahu's ability to take advantage of the commercial opportunities of settlement.

Wellington Māori

William Wakefield was the principal agent in New Zealand for the New Zealand Company and purchased land from Wellington chiefs. An investigation of these transactions by Land Claims Commissioner William Spain found significant problems with them. The chiefs of Te Aro, Pipitea and Kumutoto pā had taken little or no part in the discussions. Guided by the fact that the European population of 3,500 now significantly outnumbered the Māori population of 500–600, Spain thought that those whose land had been sold without permission should be compensated. Compensation was paid, and Māori retained some land, particularly through tenths – the New Zealand Company-allocated reserves which were to make up one-tenth of the company’s lands and were to be allotted on the same random basis as the settlers’ lands. In the early 21st century, these lands were managed by the Wellington Tenths Trust.

Despite the retention of some land, by 1881 only 28 Māori still lived at Te Aro and nine at Pipitea. By the 1890s both Te Aro and Pipitea were unoccupied. The pā at Ngāūranga did not survive into the 20th century.

Auckland Māori

In 1840 a number of Ngāti Whātua chiefs, including Apihai Te Kawau, signed the Treaty of Waitangi, and Te Kawau invited Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson to locate his government on the Waitematā Harbour. Ngāti Whātua then sold land for the township of Auckland, hoping that Pākehā settlement would protect them from incursions by other tribes. However by 1855 Ngāti Whātua had lost title to all their lands except the 700-acre (280-hectare) Ōrākei block. The Native Land Court declared this land to be inalienable in 1869, but by the 1890s it had been split up. In 1951 the government compulsorily took the last 12.5 acres (5 hectares) of Ngāti Whātua land. In 1986 Ngāti Whātua took a claim about the Ōrākei block to the Waitangi Tribunal.

The city and education

In the 19th century, as towns turned into cities, Māori moved away from what, in many cases, had been their traditional lands. Until the early 20th century it was relatively unusual for Māori to travel to, let alone live in, the city. In 1900 more than 95% of Māori lived in rural communities. Often Māori living in the city were those with European blood who were known as ‘hawhe kaihe’ (half-castes).

In the North Island, Māori lived in separate regions in rural kāinga with a hapū base. In the South Island, Māori lived in kāika or ‘kaiks’ (villages) on the margins of European settlements. In the 1930s, 90% of Māori still lived rurally. Education and government business were still often the only things that brought Māori to the city.

Education

Education of Māori in the city was often church-based and catered to both sexes. Theological training for Māori men was also important. From the late 19th century a vanguard of Māori began training at universities, although few schools prepared Māori students for academic study.

Māori boys’ schools

St Stephen’s began as a Māori girls’ primary school in Parnell, Auckland but became a boys’ school in 1860. Boys went on to Te Aute College until the 1920s, when St Stephen’s developed its own secondary schooling. At this time the school came under pressure from the Auckland Education Board, Auckland City Council and local residents to give up its site for a state primary school. In 1931 it moved to Bombay, south of Auckland. St Stephen’s closed in 2000 but intends to reopen in 2025.

Hato Petera College was founded by the Mill Hill Fathers. It opened as St Peter’s Catechist School with 13 students in 1928. Marist Brothers took over the school in 1946, when it was registered as a secondary school. It was renamed Hato Petera (St Peter in Māori). It became coeducational in 1993 and closed in 2018.

Māori girls’ schools

Queen Victoria School in Parnell, Auckland, was opened by the Duke of York (later King George V) in 1901. One motivation for the establishment of the school was the education of Māori women to equip them to marry educated Māori men who had attended the Māori boys’ schools. Queen Victoria closed in 2001.

Te Wai Pounamu College was founded at Tuahiwi, Canterbury, and then moved into Christchurch. It was the only Māori girls’ college in the South Island. Te Wai Pounamu College closed in 1990.

Māori and universities

Some of the pioneering Māori professionals came into the cities for education. Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hīroa) and Tūtere Wī Repa studied medicine at the University of Otago. Apirana Ngata, the first Māori lawyer, graduated from Canterbury University College in 1895. Edward Ellison trained to be a doctor at the University of Otago in the early 1900s. His brother Tom Ellison, the first All Blacks rugby captain, became a lawyer.

Theological training

Māori were trained for the ministry in the city. Two important theological colleges were St John’s College and Wesley College in Auckland. Wesley College originally opened to train Māori in theology in 1848. It closed during the New Zealand Wars but reopened in 1876.

Māori nurses

Some of the first Māori nurses also made their way into the city for training. Ākenehi Hei of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Te Whakatōhea was the first nurse to graduate. Mabel Mangākahia went to Auckland Girls’ Grammar School and then Queen Victoria School, where she gained a nursing bursary. She trained at Auckland Hospital, completing her training in 1923.

Government and MPs

Politics and the legal system often drew Māori to Wellington. The Māori members of Parliament in the lower house and the Legislative Council had to live and work in Wellington. Māori also travelled to Wellington to support petitions, attend meetings of the Native Affairs select committee, and support or oppose bills going through Parliament. A number of Māori politicians started their careers as interpreters at Parliament or in the Native Department. Carvers were employed by the Dominion Museum in Wellington in the early 20th century.

Māori migrate to the cities

Second World War

According to the 1936 census, only 10% of the Maori population was urban. Within a few decades the number would rise to over 80%. This massive shift was sparked by the Second World War. The Manpower Act was used to direct young Māori men who were not in the military to work in essential industries, which were often located in cities. Young Māori women were directed to work in factories. The Māori Affairs Department appointed six Māori welfare officers to assist young women away from home.

Migration following the war

By 1945, just over 25% of the Māori population was urbanised. However, the number of Māori living in cities was still very low relative to total city populations. The Māori population of Wellington was less than 1% of the total population, while the Auckland figure was 2%.

After the war, Māori migration to cities increased. Returned Māori servicemen migrated to urban areas to utilise skills acquired during the war. Some entered teacher training, joining those who had trained under a Māori quota before the war. By the mid-1950s, 35% of Māori lived in urban areas. By the end of the decade, over half of the Māori population was urbanised.

Relocation continues

In 1960 the Department of Maori Affairs encouraged this demographic shift with an urban relocation programme. Māori welfare officers exhorted rural families to leave the subsistence economy of gardening and fishing, finding them employment and accommodation in urban centres.

Over a five-year period the department relocated 399 families and assisted 485 families who moved of their own accord. In 1966 62% of Māori were urbanised, and in 1990 the figure was over 80%.

Māori housing

It was often difficult for Māori to find housing in the cities, and hostels catered for young Māori who moved there to work. At first Māori tended to live in inner-city locations close to where unskilled work was found – on the wharves, in factories and in the transport industry.

In Auckland. the Māori Women’s Welfare League worked with Māori Affairs welfare officers to ensure Māori had access to adequate housing. The government approach to Māori housing was called ‘pepper-potting’, with Māori families sprinkled around predominantly Pākehā communities.

The number of Māori moving to cities meant housing needed to be addressed on a larger scale. Housing subdivisions built in the 1960s in Ōtara, Māngere and Te Atatū in Auckland, and Porirua, Hutt Valley and Wainuiomata in Wellington, had many Māori residents.

Māori adapt to city life

Adapting to cities

As Māori moved into the cities they had to meet the challenges of an urban environment, including finding employment and housing, and getting access to education for their children. They encountered a significantly different cultural environment, with European customs predominant and English the main language. One way of countering this situation was relocating Māori culture to the city. Cultural clubs, Māori churches and Māori sports teams were set up.

Tribal councils, the Māori Women’s Welfare League, churches and the Māori Affairs Department played important roles in resolving issues related to housing and welfare.

Māori cultural groups

During the 1930s a number of young Māori moved to Wellington to work. The Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club was established in 1937 for Māori to socialise and participate in their culture. It was a pan-tribal group. Apirana Ngata coined the name Ngāti Pōneke – Pōneke was the Māori name for Port Nicolson, the early name for Wellington. Throughout the Second World War Ngāti Pōneke performed concerts to entertain visitors and raise funds for troops overseas. Over time a number of other cultural groups followed Ngāti Pōneke's lead, including Ngāti Akarana in Auckland and Ngāti Rānana in London.

Māori and churches

Māori in the cities would often attend churches which, while not local, had a significant Māori attendance, or conducted services in the Māori language. Some Māori organised services in their homes, including Anglican, Catholic and Methodist services, as well as those of Māori-based churches such as Rātana and Ringatū.

Urban marae

Urban marae were established so Māori could hold events that conformed with their own cultural norms. These pan-tribal urban marae included Hoani Waititi in Auckland, Pipitea in Wellington, Ngā Hau e Whā in Christchurch and Araiteuru in Dunedin.

The Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic churches all established church-based marae in the cities. Tātai Hono (Anglican) and Te Ūnga Waka (Catholic) in Auckland are examples.

Some marae were tribally based, such as Te Tira Hōu in Auckland, which is affiliated to Tūhoe and the wider Mataatua confederation.

There have also been a number of education-based marae. Kōhanga reo (Māori-language preschools)  and kura kaupapa Māori (Māori immersion schools) both began in the city.

Taura here

Tribal members in the city joined taura here (which means ‘binding ropes’) to help retain their identity and their links back to tribal homelands. Taura here were often represented on the boards of iwi organisations. Te Runanga nui o Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Upoko o Te Ika was the Wellington taura here group for Ngāti Kahungunu. There were two taura here groups in Auckland for Ngāpuhi – Te Taura Here ki Manurewa (South Auckland) and Te Taura Here o Ngāpuhi ki Waitākere (North and West Auckland).

Urban authorities

In the late 20th century a number of urban Māori authorities developed to assist Māori. These included Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust (West Auckland), the Manukau Urban Māori Authority (South Auckland), Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa Trust (Hamilton), Te Rūnanganui o te Ūpoko o Te Ika (Wellington) and Te Rūnanga o Ngā Maata Waka (Christchurch).