In the book’s narrative, the author Piers Seed refutes and dismantles the false allegations completely. The book makes compelling reading and to the best of our knowledge is the fullest factual coverage of the events at Rangiaowhia ever published.
It follows from the book: –
* That the so-called defenceless village was no such thing, as there were about 40 Paterangi Kingite armed convoy guards present, the number of guns and the fortified whares (slab timber wall forts) with rifle pits within the village also attest to that.
* The preposterous claims of a ‘holocaust’ and that up to 144 women and children were wantonly slaughtered in a burning church are arrant nonsense.
* The alleged burning of a church simply did not happen as both churches stood intact after the affray, the Catholic Church was demolished in 1931 and the Anglican Church is still standing there today. Faced with these incontrovertible facts the fabulists then seek to switch the false myth to a “whare karakia or house of prayer” which is equally fatuous as this was a fortified whare (with a narrow entrance and rifle pit) full of guns and ammunition manned by rebels that withstood a series of concerted assaults by Government troops.
* All eye witness and subsequent accounts by those living in that era make a mockery of the current fictitious claims. Cowan, ‘NZ Land Wars’, Volume 1 Chapter 37 the Invasion of Rangiaowhia Pages 351 to 357 reconfirms that position. Cowan is still the authoritative text and, as he spoke Maori fluently, interviewed surviving eyewitnesses and visited most of the sites, he was in a unique position to assess the events of the day.
Those who spread the false allegations have been exposed by this book. The book to some degree plays ‘devil’s advocate’ thereby covering every aspect of the events. Politicians, Government bureaucrats, modern-day historians, teachers and academics intent on rewriting history who all know better, should be silent and apologise for their outbursts – that of course will not happen. Using impressionable young school children to spread race-based falsehoods is abhorrent.
Promoting mistruths has no place in NZ History. The standard defence when the culprits are challenged confronted and faced with the facts is that ‘history is often contentious and debatable’ but the truth is not negotiable.
Every NZ Public Library, School Library, all MP’s and the 67 Local Authorities should have a copy of this book on hand as a foil against blatant racism and activism.
The Tross Publishing trilogy of books is now complete- Gate Pa and Te Ranga The Full Story, Parihaka The Facts, and The Real Story of Rangiaowhia have all put paid to the myths and lies surrounding these events and ordinary Kiwis will as a result be all the wiser.
Denying the truth doesn’t change the facts.
Truth matters above all else.
The great enemy of the truth is very often not only the lies, (deliberate, contrived and dishonest as they may be) but the associated myths which are persistent, pervasive and unrelenting.
Kiwis, enjoy the book and draw your own conclusions from the facts.
(Hoani’s Last Stand The Real Story of Rangiaowhia by Piers Seed should be in your local bookshop, however, it can be purchased direct from Tross Publishing, postage paid, for $35)
Rob Paterson is a retired Bay of Plenty lawyer and political commentator with a special interest in NZ History. Richard Prince a property investor with a background in real estate is a political commentator with a special interest in local government.
2 comments:
We have many lay people speaking up about all the falsehoods permeating our New Zealand society. Now we need the politicians to become informed and speak out. What a dismal lot! They, themselves appear so complacent and too quick to adhere to this new woke agenda. Tell them you won't vote for them unless they speak the truth to these matters. They appear terrified of our rather pathetic MSM. What about asking the people who voted for them what they want? Companies like Air New Zealand and others: we are not Aotearoa or Aotearoa-New Zealand we are simply New Zealand. An absolute lie being transmitted worldwide.
Absolutely Janine. The lies that get perpetuated like the "holocaust of Parihaka" and the "partnership" embodied in the Treaty etc. It's time a great many of them took some time out and actually researched our history, but then a lot will no doubt look to revisionists/activists like our Waitangi Tribunal, who have, inter alia, determined Maori never ceded sovereignty. With such patent nonsense abounding, it's hardly surprising many of our politicians (and public more generally) are ill-informed, misguided or just plain ignorant.
And in terms of Aotearoa, we've spent more than the last century and a half building a world recognised brand only to, now through utter wokeism and virtue signalling, attempt to replace it with a name whose provenance is far from unequivocal and, more importantly, without any kind of publicly endorsed mandate. The stupidity and ignorance of that is only surpassed by the audacity and impaired intellect of those that promote such nonsense. It's about a sensible and likely as Amatil, or Warren Buffett, saying, I think rebranding Coca-Cola is a good idea.
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