Mike Butler: Hut burning and tribal control

A purge of colonial buildings in the Urewera park which shows that tribal co-governors act like wolves in sheep’s clothing came to an immediate halt today courtesy of the High Court.

The ruling comes after applicant Wharenui Clyde Tuna sought to halt what he described as “the hasty destruction by fire of the hut network throughout Te Urewera”.1

“Between the burning down of the Kanohirua hut at the end of October 2022, the applicant believes between 15 and 20 huts have been burnt down by employees or contractors of the second respondent [Trustees of Tūhoe – Te Uru Taumatua],” the judgement said.

Mike Butler: Tuhoe, co-governance, colonial purge

A visitor centre near Lake Waikaremoana, designed by the luminary Maori architect John Scott as a connection with the spirit of Urewera, is being demolished as part of a “colonial purge”, according to a report in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper.(1)

Havelock North architect Pierre du Toit said that the decision to demolish “was backed by Tuhoe in a bid to rid the Urewera National Park of colonial influence”.