The Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its third reading at Parliament on Tuesday. The Bill will vest the title to the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres east of Kihikihi, in ngā tūpuna o Ō-Rākau – the ancestors of Ō-Rākau.

Returning the Ō-Rākau battle site to tūpuna or the ancestral ownership will help to recognise the past and safeguard their stories for the benefit of future generations, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka said.

“This unique arrangement acknowledges those who were present during the battle or had traditional connections to the land,” Potaka said. “The battle site will be managed by a body representing the descendants of ngā tūpuna, as well as their whānau, hapū and Iwi.

“I know it’s been a long journey to achieve this result and I acknowledge the work of Maniapoto, Raukawa, Waikato and all others whose mahi has contributed to the return of the whenua."

Potaka said since 2015, the Crown and Iwi have worked closely together to return the whenua at Ō-Rākau and honour the tūpuna who had connections to that land.

Ō-Rākau was the site of the last major battle in the Crown’s 1863-64 invasion of Waikato.

Between March 31 and April 2 1864, around 300 Māori, many of them women and children, defended their pa against an attack by 1,400 British troops. An estimated half of the defenders were killed during the fighting and subsequent retreat and the land was subsequently confiscated by the Crown.

“Ō-Rākau was the site of an important conflict in our nation’s history and I was honoured to attend the 160th anniversary commemorations there last year," Potaka said.

“Today [Tuesday] is the next step on a journey taken together by Crown and Iwi in recognition of our shared experiences together.”

Ō-Rākau battle site returning to tūpuna ownership

E hoki ana te pae riri o Ō-Rākau ki raro i te rangatiratanga o ngā tūpuna

Mā te hokinga o te pae riri o Ō-Rākau ki raro i te rangatiratanga o ngā tūpuna ka āhukahukatia tō rātou onamata, ka whakamarua ā rātou kōrero hei painga mō ngā whakatupuranga kei te heke mai, te kī a te Minita mō Te Arawhiti, a Tama Potaka.

Kua pāhi Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara i muri i te pānuitanga tuatoru i te Pāremata i tēnei rā. Ka tukuna e te Pire te taitara ki te pae riri e 9.7 heketea te rahi, e 5 kiromita te tawhiti whakaterāwhiti o Kihikihi, ki ngā tūpuna o Ō-Rākau.

"Ko tā tēnei whakaritenga ahurei he āhukahuka i ērā i reira i te wā o te pakanga, i whai hononga taketake rānei ki taua whenua," hei tā Minita Potaka. "Ka whakahaeretia te pae riri e tētahi rōpū e whakakanohi ana i ngā uri o aua tūpuna, i ō rātou whānau, hapū, iwi anō hoki.

"E mōhio ana ahau he roa te huarahi i whāia kia puta ai tēnei otinga, me āku mihi ki ērā mahi nunui a Maniapoto, a Raukawa, a Waikato, a ētahi atu rānei i whai wāhi ki te whakahokinga o te papa whenua nei.

"Mai i 2015 he kaha te mahi ngātahi a te Karauna me ngā Iwi ki te whakahoki i te whenua i Ō-Rākau me te whakamiha i ngā tūpuna i whai hononga ki taua pito whenua.

Ko Ō-Rākau te pae o te pakanga nui whakamutunga o tā te Karauna urutomokanga o Waikato i te 1863-64. I waenga i te 31 o Māehe me te 2 o Aperira 1864 i whakangungua e tōna 300 tāngata Māori, ko te tokomaha o rātou he wāhine me te tamariki, tō rātou pā ki tētahi pāhatanga e ngā hōia Piritene 1,400. Ko te whakatau tata, i whakamatea tata ki te haurua o ngā kaiwawao i ngā wā o te pakanga, me te whakatahinga i whai muri, ka mutu, he mea raupatu te whenua e te Karauna.

"Ko Ō-Rākau te pae o tētahi pakanga nui i te hītori o te motu, ā, nōku te whiwhi i tae atu au ki reira mō te whakanuinga huritau 160 i tērā tau.

"Ko tēnei rā he wāhanga anō i te haerenga ngātahi o te Karauna me ngā Iwi ki te āhukahuka i ō mātou hononga tētahi ki tētahi."