Bastion Point (Takaparawha in Māori) is a coastal piece of land in Orakei, Auckland, New Zealand, overlooking the Waitemata Harbour. Māori or Te Reo Māori, commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) is an official language of New Zealand. ... Orakei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. ... Schematic map of Auckland. ... Auckland Harbour Bridge crossing the harbour. ...

History

The land was originally owned by Ngāti Whātua, in the period before the colonisation of New Zealand by the British Crown, and was part of important lands for the iwi (tribe), overlooking rich fishing and farming areas. Ngāti Whātua is a Maori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. ... For the historic phenomenon of colonization and imperialism, see main article colonialism (and also decolonisation). ... The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen_in_Parliament) legislative power. ... Iwi (pronounced ee-wee) are the largest everyday social units in Māori society. ...

The surrounding land was bought or confiscated by the New Zealand Government for public works and development over a period stretching from the 1840s into the 1950s. New Zealand functions as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. ... Look up Public works in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Occupation

Bastion Point activist campaign at Nambassa alternatives festival 1981

In 1885, the NZ Government built a military outpost at Kohimarama, or Bastion Point, because it commanded good strategic positioning over Waitemata Harbour. It was not built on Takaparawha Point, which had earlier been given to the Government for that purpose. In 1886, the Crown used the Public Works Act 1882 to take ownership of 13 acres of Bastion Point for this purpose of defence. When, in 1941, the Crown no longer needed Bastion Point for defence, the ancestral Maori land was not returned to it's traditional Maori owners but instead gifted to the Auckland City Council for a reserve. (This was the last 60 acres of uncommitted land at Orakei that the hapu still hoped to get back.) In 1976, the Crown announced that it planned to develop Bastion Point by selling it to the highest corporate bidder for high-income housing. Joe Hawke and other Maori members of hapu, and Pakeha activists, formed the Orakei Maori Action Committee taking direct action to stop the subdivision. In 1977-1978 the Orakei Maori Action Committee organised an illegal occupation of the remaining land Crown land to prevent its confiscation by the Muldoon Government. A marae and housing was built, and crops were grown. A fire in one of the buildings caused the tragic death of a young girl. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Nambassa was a series of hippie-conceived festivals held between 1976 and 1981 on large farms around Waihi and Waikino in New Zealand. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... Joe Parata Hohepa Hawke (1940 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. ... Pakeha is a New Zealand English word for European New Zealanders, that is, New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as involvement in action to bring about change, be it social, political, environmental, or other change. ... The Third National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. ... A Maori word now common in New Zealand English, marae refers an area of land where the Wharenui or meeting house (literally big house) sits. ...

A peaceful occupation lasted for 507 days and was finally ended when on the 25th May 1978 800 police and the New Zealand army were used to forcibly remove the occupiers and destroy the temporary buildings including vegetable gardens a meeting house, which were constructed to accommodate the live in protest. Two hundred and twenty two protesters were arrested. The occupation and use of force to end it played a part in highlighting injustices against Maori, and the occupation was a major landmark in the history of Māori protest. Although New Zealand today is widely regarded internationally as having fair relations with its indigenous Maori peoples compared to it’s immediate neighbours, and multiculturalism is considerd as a significant positive to it’s cultural identity and growing diverse communities; like most Indigenous peoples throughout the world Maoris have struggled...

In the 1980's New Zealand Government formally apologised and returned the land to Ngāti Whātua with compensation, as part of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. ...

A documentary supporting the protest by filmmaker Merata Mita was made about the takeover of Māori land. It is titled "Bastion Point" and it uses various video footage of the forceful land takeover.

Savage Memorial

The point is the location of the Savage Memorial for the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand Michael Joseph Savage (March 23, 1872 – March 27, 1940). The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealands head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. ... Michael Joseph Savage (March 23, 1872 - March 27, 1940) was a New Zealand politician and the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand. ...

See also

• Māori protest movement
• Treaty of Waitangi
• Ngati Whatua
• Orakei

Although New Zealand today is widely regarded internationally as having fair relations with its indigenous Maori peoples compared to it’s immediate neighbours, and multiculturalism is considerd as a significant positive to it’s cultural identity and growing diverse communities; like most Indigenous peoples throughout the world Maoris have struggled... One of the few extant copies of the Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. ... The Ngati Whatua iwi (tribe) of New Zealand consists of four hapu (subtribes): Te Uri O Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taou, and Ngati Whatua. ... Orakei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. ...

External References

• Television footage of Bastion Point eviction, from Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• Report on the Orakei claim, Waitangi Tribunal
• Radio NZ sound bite interviews on the 1970's Bastion Point protest.
• Photo of the police cordon at Bastion Point.