Parihaka was a Maori village in Taranaki, New Zealand that was the center of non-violent resistance to the confiscation of Maori land by the New Zealand government in the late 19th century. It was led by Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi who advocated peaceful resistance to government surveying and land seizures. In 1881, over 1,500 armed constabulary troops invaded Parihaka, arrested Te Whiti and Tohu, imprisoned Parihaka residents, and destroyed the village. However, Parihaka was later rebuilt and continued its peaceful resistance under the leadership of Te Whiti and Tohu until their

2. Te Whiti & Parihaka
"No good thing has ever been got
by force ... there is no reason why
force should continue to have
power over us."

3. Parihaka / Taranaki
Turanganui-a-Kiwa
Taranaki /
(Gisborne)
Parihaka

4. Te Whiti o Rongomai
"My name is taken from the hill
Puke Te Whiti (which stands as a
sentinel guarding the past, the
present and the future).
Like Puke Te Whiti, I stand as a
sentinel - not one bit of land will be
given over to strangers with my
consent."

6. This gathering of people at Parihaka was photographed in the 1880s. Such events have been
taking place since the Taranaki wars of the 1860s. At that time the Parihaka leaders Te Whiti-o-
Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi set up a regular forum called Tekau mā waru (‘The Eighteenth’)
which still takes place on the 18th and 19th of each month. This was an opportunity for people to
talk about strategies, thoughts and visions for the future.

7. In 1881 over 1,500 troops were sent to destroy the Taranaki village of Parihaka. Parihaka was the
centre of a peaceful movement to resist the European occupation of confiscated Māori land.
This photograph shows members of the armed constabulary awaiting orders to advance on the
Troops waiting to advance
settlement.

8. Timeline
• 1862 Te Whiti and his people saved people from a ship that wrecked off
the Coast – they ensured they got safe passage through tribal lands to
New Plymouth.
• 1863 Suppression of Rebellion Act – defined Maori fighting for their land
as rebels, who could be detained indefinitely, without trial
• 1863 New Zealand Settlements Act – authorised the government to
confiscate any land where Maori were considered to be in rebellion – the
government then took 3 million acres, mostly in Taranaki and Waikato
• 1870s Surveyors started carving up Waimate plains for settlers from
Canterbury and Manawatu
• 1879 Te Whiti started non-violent resistance to government surveying:
"Go, put your hands to the plough. Look not back. If any come
with guns and swords, be not afraid. If they smite you, smite not
in return. If they rend you, be not discouraged. Another will take
up the good work.
During that period of non-violent unrest, hundreds of Maori were
arrested and kept in prison without trial.
• 1880 Parihaka became a stronghold of Maori opposition to the loss of
tribal lands.

9. 1881 Invasion & Exile
• The conflicts between the people of Parihaka and the settler-
backed government came to a head in 1881.
• On 19 October, Native Affairs Minister William Rolleston
signed a proclamation to invade Parihaka.
• On 5 November 1881, the peaceful village was invaded by
1,500 volunteers and members of the Armed Constabulary.
• The soldiers were welcomed by the 2,000 residents of
Parihaka, children came out skipping, soldiers were offered
food and drink and adults allowed themselves to be arrested
without protest.
• The Riot Act was read and an hour later Te Whiti and Tohu
were led away to a mock trial.
• The leaders of Parihaka along with hundreds of their people
were imprisoned in the South Island, many in freezing cold
caves where they died from exposure, disease and
malnutrition.
• The destruction of Parihaka began immediately. It took the
army two weeks to pull down the houses and two months to
destroy the crops.
• Women and girls were raped leading to an outbreak of syphilis
in the community. People suspected of being from other areas
of the country were thrown out.
• Fort Rolleston was built on a tall hill in the village; four officers
and seventy soldiers garrisoned it. The five-year Military
occupation of Parihaka had begun.

10. Parihaka was rebuilt, and those who had been arrested and imprisoned later
returned. This photograph of 1898 shows a pōwhiri for some of these men.

11. Rebuilding Parihaka
• In 1883 the Parihaka leaders were escorted back to Parihaka.
• On his arrival home Te Whiti was assaulted by soldiers for
refusing to accept an order not to resume the monthly meetings.
He resumed the 18th meetings immediately and used them to
mount further protest action on confiscated land.
• In 1886 he was imprisoned again along with Titokowaru his
protest companion. Days before Te Whiti was released in 1888
his wife and mother of his children Hikurangi died, he was not
allowed to return for her tangihanga (funeral).
• The modernisation of Parihaka continued at a great pace.
Elaborate guesthouses were built complete with hot and cold
running water. Streets, lighting and drainage were constructed
along with a bakery, an abattoir, shops and a bank. Parihaka
people ran agricultural contracts throughout Taranaki sowing
seed, cropping and labouring.
• On the 12th of July 1898 the last of the Parihaka prisoners
returned to a heroes welcome at Parihaka. Their release brought
to an end 19 years of imprisonments of Parihaka men and boys.
• The Parihaka leaders Te Whiti and Tohu died during the year
1907.
• The community faced poverty by the 1930’s as its land estate
was carved up for disposal to Europeans.
• The Government offered suspensory loans to those who wanted
it and they paid nothing for the land itself but these schemes were
available only to Europeans.

12. Parihaka Today
• Parihaka Pa still stands
• The whanau of Parihaka host an
International Peace Festival
every year
• Parihaka has been the venue for
a number of important national
Maori hui, including in 2005, the
presenting evidence on Crown
breaches of Indigenous Peoples
Rights to a representative from
the United Nations

13. More Information
• Parihaka Peace Festival
• Parihaka: The Art of Peaceful Resistance (exhibition website):
• The Pacifist of Parihaka (Puke Ariki cultural centre website):
• Taranaki Reports (Waitangi Tribunal)
• Taranaki Stories (Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of NZ)
• Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust
• Maori and the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

14. He Whakatauki
KO TE PO TE KAIHARI I TE RA
KO TE MATE TE KAIHARI I TE ORANGA
NIGHT IS THE BRINGER OF DAY
DEATH IS THE BRINGER OF LIFE
- na Te Whiti me Tohu