Bruce Moon: Land War Petition – letters to Otorohanga College

The "King Country" has always been a somewhat mysterious part of New Zealand to most of us.  It is no less so today.  Suddenly, out of it has come a petition to Parliament, sponsored, so it is said, by the students of Otorohanga College for a day to commemorate the "Land Wars".

Well now, the term "Land Wars" is a recent serious misnomer for the hostilities of the mid-nineteenth century, correctly described as tribal rebellions. 

Mike Butler: Submit against land wars day

Submissions are sought on whether to establish “a national day to commemorate those who lost their lives in the land wars, both Maori and colonial”. Although presented as the spontaneous idea of Otorohanga College pupils sparked by visiting the battle sites at Orakau and Rangiaowhia, the idea of including lives lost in New Zealand in memorials appeared in 2013, on the 150th commemoration of the start of armed conflict in Waikato.

As an initial observation, the sporadic armed conflict that accompanied the settlement of New Zealand from 1840 should be regarded as tribal rebellions instead of land wars. A “land wars day” would be a misnomer.

Mike Butler: Petitioning for day of grievance

Otorohanga College students with painted faces and traditional costume converged on Parliament this week to present a petition demanding a national day of remembrance for anti-government Maori killed during several 19th century tribal rebellions.

Sporadic armed conflict accompanied the settlement of New Zealand, from 1843 to 1869, with the bulk of the fighting during the 1860s in Taranaki, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, and the east coast of the North Island.