A Game of Mū: A study of the records of the Māori Land Court in the Waiariki District and their use in re-constructing Māori histories

Abstract

The Māori Land Court is often seen as a controversial figure in Māori history having wrought profound changes to traditional Māori society by encouraging the commodification of land, facilitating its progressive alienation away from Māori and making it available for colonial settlement. At various times the Court’s exclusive jurisdiction included not only land, but Māori estates and Māori adoptions. Therefore Māori have continuously interacted with the Court from the time of its establishment in 1862-1865 to now. Over 150 years of interaction with Māori has produced a large volume of unique Court records. While ostensibly documenting the statutory functions of the Court, the records seemingly provide a primary source of iwi, hapū and individual history. Those from the late nineteenth century in particular contain detailed oral historical narratives produced during the course of the Court’s work. This thesis aimed to explore the Court’s records. This was achieved through charting their origin and exploring their value as a primary source of Māori history, specifically in reconstructing early Māori histories; individual, whanau, hapū and iwi, with reference to accuracy and authenticity. Of significance to this paper were two sampled record types, the Court Minute Books and Court Estate/Will Files, which were framed and examined within two case studies. This thesis has argued that, despite a number of issues that would normally be perceived as inadequacies and fatal to their use, the records of the Māori Land Court are in fact unique and that with certain issues in mind can still be an extensive resource, one that deserves a broader recognition of their value in assisting historical research.