March 10, 2020
Genesis of Kororareka clash recalled
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Northland hapū are tomorrow marking the 175th anniversary of the felling of the flagstaff at Kororāreka/Russell.
Kororāreka Marae Society chair Deb Rewiri says the annual commemorations have been a way to bring the story out from under the haze of colonisation and assimilation that pitted so-called bad Māori against good Pākehā.
With the help of the marae, Te Au Marie Trust and local hapū and iwi, the Department of Conservation has installed new interpretive panels on Te Maiki relating the events that lead up the battle and the reverberations that followed, so people can understand the intention and feelings of the people of the day.
"It wasn’t about ceding sovereignty because they never did. It was about saying to the Queen 'your people will not adhere to the tikanga, they will not adhere to the laws we have in place, so you need to manage them.' That was really the agreement that underpins what they were wanting to achieve here," Ms Rewiri says.
The commemoration starts with mihi, karakia, kōrero and himene on the maunga at 7 am before the raising of the flag Te Kara, followed by a service at Christ Church to remember those who fell in the battles, both PaÌ„kehā and Māori.
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