Native Land Court

In 1841 a few tiny islands of Pākehā settlement existed in an ocean of Māori land. Today, that picture has reversed & Māori own a fraction of Aotearoa. A big part of the reason? The Native Land Court.

Large chunks of land changed hands through the Native Land Court; or as it was also known: Te Kooti Tango Whenua - The Land Taking Court. Created by the 1862 Native Lands Act, the court was meant to establish individual land ownership under the new British colonial government. In practice it began a process of land alienation for Maori that continued until the 1990s.

Watch the video version of the episode here

In this episode we discuss:

• The right of preemption and the large crown land purchases in the 1840s and 50s.
• How these purchases contributed to increasing Māori opposition to land sales.
• How Māori opposition to land sales contributed to the New Zealand Wars.
• The different ways Māori and Pākehā thought about land.
• How and why the court was first established.
• The racist attitudes of some judges and officials.
• The impact of the "1840 rule" and the "10-owners rule", including the sale of the Heretaunga block.
• How debt was used to ensnare Māori in the court.
• The negative impacts of attending court on Māori.
• How Māori attempted to reform or remove the court in the 19th century, including the efforts of the Kotahitanga movement.
• The efforts of Māori MPs to slow down the loss of Māori land in the early 20th Century.
• The 1965 Māori Affairs Amendment Act and how it acted as a catalyst for protest movements.
• How those movements achieved reforms, including Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.
• The ongoing impacts of the Native Land Court and attempts to address injustices.

For more on this subject:

• Te Kooti Tango Whenua by David Williams
• Illustrated History of New Zealand by Judith Binney
• Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End by Ranginui Walker
• Conquest by Contract: Wealth Transfer and Land Market Structure in Colonial New Zealand by Stuart Banner, Law & Society Review

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details