Chronology for 1835-1899
The colonial redistribution of welfare: Dismantling hapū ora
This period opens with a politically and socio-economically robust iwi Māori population of around 80,000 people.[i] go to footnote Whenua and whakapapa form the basis of hapū and whānau wellbeing. W.H. Oliver argues that the first instrument of social policy in New Zealand was the system set up by Hobson in 1840 for the purchase and resale to settlers of Māori land.[ii] go to footnote Pākehā welfare was dependent on the continued dispossession of Māori land.[iii]go to footnote
The New Zealand Wars (1845–1872) either directly or indirectly impacted all iwi Māori throughout New Zealand.[iv] go to footnote Related legislative measures enabled the Crown to alienate Māori land and taonga across the motu prior to and beyond the next century via confiscation, land tenure reforms, local legislative measures and contested land purchases.
Iwi Māori assertions of rangatiratanga and resistance to the alienation of lands occurred across the motu, either physically, through the courts, via direct petitioning to the government or through the simple occupation of lands. Such measures led to some government concessions, such as the Sims Commission and South Island Landless Natives Act 1906,[v] go to footnote but after 1872 resistance also sometimes led to the government’s use of force in the later 19th century and well into the 20th century. (eg, Parihaka in 1881, Waima in 1898, Takaparawhāu in 1978).[vi] go to footnote
By the end of the 19th century Māori were a minority of the national. In 1896 the Māori population hit an all-time low of 42,650, compared to a Pākehā population of just over 700,000. Although the Māori population was recovering, their communities were reeling from land alienation, decline of resources, indebtedness, diseases and Māori communities survived on subsistence economies, with a growing dependence on paid work.
Māori were either excluded or faced barriers to accessing welfare support introduced during this period.
Chronology events
Displaying 11 - 20 of 33 events.
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First attempts at a Māori Census
This marked the first attempt at a separate Māori census.[i]
Date: 1857 Period: 1835-1899 -
Resistance to land alienation
Māori began to assert resistance to land alienation throughout the country.
Date: 1857 Period: 1835-1899 -
Te Aukati established in Waikato
Te Wherowhero becomes the first Māori King.
Date: 1858 Period: 1835-1899 -
First Kohimarama conference
Governor Thomas Gore Browne held a conference at Kohimarama, Tāmaki Makaurau, in August 1860. This was an attempt to prevent the fighting in Taranaki from spreading to other areas. [i]
Date: 1860 Period: 1835-1899 -
Native Lands Act
Established the Native Land Court, an important means of Crown land acquisition and assimilation.
Date: 1862 Period: 1835-1899 -
New Zealand Settlements Act
War, followed by land confiscation, became another way of implementing social policy to transfer land into Pākehā hands.[i] Roads were also constructed for the military and for economic expansion, especially farming communities, that would draw Māori withi…
Date: 1863 Period: 1835-1899 -
Land confiscations
First proclamation confiscating land under the New Zealand Settlements Act. [i]
Date: 1864 Period: 1835-1899 -
Public Works legislation
Permits the compulsory acquisition of Māori land. [i]
Date: 1864 Period: 1835-1899 -
Native Land Court
The Native Lands Act of 1862 gave the Governor authority to establish a Native Land Court in any district defined by him. Those found by the court to be owners were then at liberty to sell or let land directly to settlers. [i]
Date: 1865 Period: 1835-1899 -
Military Pensions Act 1866
The Military Pensions Act 1866 provided for members of the Colonial Forces killed or wounded on active service in the New Zealand wars. Payments were higher for European members. Special allowances could also be provided to family (widows children and othe…
Date: 1866 Period: 1835-1899
Footnotes
- [i] go to main content ‘The first Māori census was attempted in 1857–58’. Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, p. 246. Earlier censuses were taken during the 1840s, however these were particular to regions and settlements and from there estimates were made by missionaries and colonists as to what the national population level might have been. Salmond and other prominent authors are sceptical of these figures and believe the numbers were greater. A census of Māori was attempted in 1867 but warfare prevented its completion. Tangata Whenua, Appendix One, p. 490.
- [ii] go to main content Cited in Margaret Tennant, Past Judgement: Social Policy in New Zealand History, co-edited with Bronwyn Dalley, 2004, p. 17.; ‘The April report: report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy’, Volume 1: New Zealand Today, New Zealand Royal Commission on Social Policy, Wellington, 1988, pp. 4–5.
- [iii] go to main content Tennant, 2004, p. 41.
- [iv] go to main content For more detailed information see the following link: https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [v] go to main content For more information see: Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2014, pp. 256–301, and https://teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars
- [vi] go to main content Tangata Whenua, pp.322-3.