A.E. Thompson: Propaganda on Hone Heke's Flagstaff Hill

I'm not sure if anyone here has drawn attention to the flagstaff at Russell. That was the one that Hone Heke's associate Te Haratua chopped down in July 1844 and Heke followed up with three further fellings from January to March 1845 whereupon those breaches of Te Tiriti (that Hone Heke had signed) led to local civil war and contributed to the start of 'land wars' around the new country. The flagstaff story is an amazing tale albeit that details vary from different sources. Essentially, Hone Heke objected to losing money that he and his cuzzies had been extracting as an informal fee from visiting ships. (Like the fees for access to beaches that will be extorted through customary title of Foreshores and Seabeds...) The Governor had imposed a customs tariff that led to ships avoiding the Bay. Also, Heke was unhappy when the country's capital was relocated from Russell to Auckland, further reducing his opportunities for more wealth and power. Ethical ruminations about the fairness of British rule were probably not so prominent in motivating this slave-owning chief.