Less than a pig' : the alienation of Māori land in the northwest King Country

Abstract

This thesis seeks to provide an understanding of inter-tribal relationships in the upper half of the King Country during the Iate nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An analysis of these relationships, will serve as a background to a study of iwi aspirations and reactions to the introduction and implementation of the Native Land Court, and the subsequent alienation ofNgati Maniapoto land. The study will be confined to the northwest region of the King Country, as the area first affected by major Iand loss. This thesis will discuss the history of these lands, from the time of early European contact, through to the establishment of the Aukati border, until the introduction of the Native Land Court in 1886. However, the bulk of this research is centred on the intentions ofManiapoto hapu when they first presented their Iand before the Native Land Court, the process ofland alienation by the Court (which occurred mainly between 1889-1910), and the ensuing, devastating results of tribal disintegration and economic deprivation which impacted into the twentieth century until the present day.