Boundaries and Belonging: Introduction
At the end of the Waikato war (1863-1864), following their defeat at Ōrākau in April 1864, the Waikato Tribes led by the second Māori King Tāwhiao retreated beyond the Pūniu River into the rohe of Maniapoto. An aukati was established which, in the north ran from Aotea Harbour across to Taupo and in the south bordered the rohe of the Taranaki tribes. Government forces overall respected the aukati, as it was politically expedient. For the next twenty years a ‘cold war’ ensued in which it was very dangerous for settlers to enter the King Country. Te Rohe Pōtae effectively operated as a separate state until 1883 when Ngāti Maniapoto chiefs agreed to a survey for the main trunk railway line that was planned to traverse the rohe. Following this, Te Rohe Pōtae was progressively made available for settlement. I am interested in understanding what the relationships between Māori and settlers were like in this early settler period. How did the kingites, the kūpapa Māori and the se...