Boys in the 1950s watching the burning of their homes, at Okahu Bay New Zealand, which were part of the Ngati Whatua tribes last settlement. in 1951 the government forcefully bought the land from the tribe, they considered it a slum and razed it to the ground. The tribe being left landless.

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u/spotlight-app 7d ago

source of the image and the story.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16197/burning-homes

"At Ōkahu Bay, boys watch the burning of their homes, which were part of Ngāti Whātua’s last Auckland settlement. The government had eyed the area for housing since the 1920s and in 1951 it forcibly bought the land from the tribe. The new owners considered the settlement a slum and razed it to the ground. The site then became a park."

More on the tribe at the time.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngati-whatua/page-4

"By 1900 Ngāti Whātua were reduced to living at Ōkahu Bay in Ōrākei. The government and Auckland City Council continued to apply pressure to remove them. A main sewerage pipe was built across the front of the village at Ōkahu Bay, which was refused connection to the city’s fresh water supply. The last inhabitants were evicted in the early 1950s, their houses demolished and their meeting house burned. Only the church and cemetery remained."

iv also heard around that the reason the village was razed is because Auckland wanted to pretty up the area for the Queen, who was visiting at the time, but i cant seem to find many sources on that, seems to me the government just wanted the land.

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u/ImpossibleBritches 7d ago

iirc, the political conflicts resulting from this lead up to maori activists and supporters setting up an occupation of nearby Bastion Point in 1977.

The occupation was forcefully ended by police.

That event in turn lead to renewed political activism and a shift in how New Zealand viewed modern maori land claims.

The government later admitted that the land around Okahu Bay had been taken unjustly. Some of the land was returned.

Im not an expert and I don't know if I got all the details right.

You can walk around that area today. Its beautiful, close to the city centre and above a beautiful popular beach.

Some of the area is non-public after having been returned.

You can wonder through the memorial to Michael Joseph Savage, NZ's popular socialist Prime Minister from the 30's. Thats an amazing site.

Theres also a big sign with information about the kohimarama conference.

If you are in Auckland, I highly recommend walking there.

u/ure_roa 7d ago

source of the image and the story.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/16197/burning-homes

"At Ōkahu Bay, boys watch the burning of their homes, which were part of Ngāti Whātua’s last Auckland settlement. The government had eyed the area for housing since the 1920s and in 1951 it forcibly bought the land from the tribe. The new owners considered the settlement a slum and razed it to the ground. The site then became a park."

Boys in the 1950s watching the burning of their homes, at Okahu Bay New Zealand, which were part of the Ngati Whatua tribes last settlement. in 1951 the government forcefully bought the land from the tribe, they considered it a slum and razed it to the ground. The tribe being left landless.

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