Learn about the growing

tension in the country and

the series of events that led
to the beginning of the New
Zealand Land Wars.
 Pre-European Settlement
Māori lived all throughout New Zealand on papakāinga. They did not ‘own’ the
land but rather occupied the area they lived in, being sure to only use what they
needed.
They lived closely as hapū, which enabled them to have rules that applied to each
particular area. Each person of the hapū had a place and a role. All hapū had their
own rangatira. There was not a singular person or group who ruled over all
Māori.

Vocabulary:
papakāinga - communal land
rangatira – chief/leader
hapū – sub-tribe
 Pre-European Settlement

For the most part, Māori lived

peacefully. They respected the earth
and their environment.

They followed the seasons and the

movement of the sun, moon and
stars.
 Pre-European Settlement

Māori often moved with their hapū in

accordance to the seasons. For example, in
warmer months their focus shifted to the sea
for fishing and the rivers for eeling.

Food would be preserved and saved until winter. At

the end of winter, the cry of the pipiwharauroa bird
would indicate the coming of spring. This meant
that it was time to work. They would start getting
the grounds prepared for growing food again.
 Arrival of Europeans
From the late 1790s, settlers slowly began arriving from all around the world.
Some of the main reasons for their arrival was for whaling and sealing, to
spread Christianity and to emigrate with their families.

After Europeans arrived in

New Zealand, the face of the land
began to change dramatically.
 Positives and Negatives of the New Arrivals
Settlements around New Zealand had increased so much. The settlers had
introduced many new things to New Zealand. Some were positive while others
were causing lawlessness.

Life was becoming more dangerous, causing the Europeans

to want to establish laws and begin a police force. Māori
had never needed such laws or forces before this.
 The Treaty of Waitangi

Before the Europeans could establish and enforce

their laws, they needed to document that New
Zealand was officially owned by the British Crown.
The English Treaty of Waitangi declared this,
which was signed in 1840.
Māori never allowed Aotearoa to be owned by the
British monarchy. Most Māori chiefs did not sign
the English version of the Treaty, they signed the
Māori version.
Both treaties declared different things, causing
misunderstandings and disagreements to arise
between the two groups. This is an issue that is still
debated today.
 Instability
Soon after the Treaty was signed, European soldiers
and leaders began removing the rights of Māori
people.
It began with the removal of the Māori flag from
being flown.
More and more settlers arrived daily and Māori
were beginning to be restricted from returning to
the lands they had previously occupied. Many
Māori did not want to give or sell their land to
settlers. This caused a lot of disagreements within
Māori hapū and iwi.

Vocabulary:
iwi - tribe
 Outbreak of War
Tensions continued to grow over the ownership of
land as well as trade between Europeans and Māori.
Māori were not being consulted or included in any of
the decision making but the decisions being made
were negatively affecting their lives.
Many felt that Europeans did not care for the rights of
Māori anymore. The British settlers were focused on
taking control of the country in the name of Her
Majesty the Queen and the Crown.
In 1845, a Māori chief by the name of Hōne Heke
protested by repeatedly cutting down of the British
flagpole at Kororāreka – the then capital of New
Zealand. This led to the outbreak of war.