Takaparawhau / Bastion Point is a coastal piece of land in
ÅŒrÄkei,
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand, overlooking the
WaitematÄ Harbour
The WaitematÄ Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...
. The area is significant in New Zealand history as the site of protests in the late 1970s by
MÄori against forced
land alienation by (European settlers).
[Police cordon At Bastion Point (3rd of 3)](_blank)
(from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed 31 July 2008.) Takaparawhau is now the site of the private ÅŒrÄkei
Marae
A ' (in MÄori language, New Zealand MÄori, Cook Islands MÄori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
, the public Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, and privately-owned reserve land that is accessible to the public.
Naming
MÄori originally named the eastern point of the area Kohimarama, meaning to collect the remnants / wood chips, and the western point was named Takaparawhau.
Felton Mathew changed the name of Kohimarama to South Head. Just off that point was Bastion Rock, which was levelled and is now the site of the Tamaki Yacht Club.
[The Bastion and the Searchlight Emplacements, info panel. ÅŒrÄkei Local Board, Auckland Council. June 2022] Bastion Point became the common name for the site encompassing both points. The nearby beach named Waiparera by MÄori was changed to
Kohimarama Beach by .
NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, who own most of the land again, call it Takaparawhau, which, along with ÅŒkahu Bay, form Whenua Rangatira, which is vested in NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei for the common use and benefit of NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei and citizens of Auckland, and is managed by the NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei Reserves Board.
The public land containing the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial and Fort Britomart tunnels is not owned by the hapū, who refer to it as Kohimarama, while
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
now call it Takaparawhau.
History
The land was occupied by NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, and before the
colonisation of New Zealand it was part of important lands for the
hapū
In MÄori language, MÄori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within MÄori society". A MÄori person can belong to or have links to many hapÅ«. Historically, each hapÅ« had its own chief ...
, overlooking rich fishing and farming areas. The surrounding land was purchased and confiscated by the
New Zealand Government
The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...
for
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...
and development over a period stretching from the 1840s into the 1950s.
On 20 March 1840, in the
Manukau Harbour
The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea.
Geography
The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...
area where
NgÄti WhÄtua
NgÄti WhÄtua is a MÄori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapÅ« (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...
farmed,
paramount chief
A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...
Apihai Te Kawau signed
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
. NgÄti WhÄtua sought British protection from
NgÄpuhi
NgÄpuhi (also known as NgÄpuhi-Nui-Tonu or NgÄ Puhi) is a MÄori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and WhangÄrei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
as well as a reciprocal relationship with the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
and the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
. Soon after signing ''Te Tiriti'', NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, the primary hapÅ« and landowner in TÄmaki Makaurau, made a ''tuku'' (strategic gift) of 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) of land on the
WaitematÄ Harbour
The WaitematÄ Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...
to
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Hobson was dispatched f ...
, the new Governor of New Zealand, for the new
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
. By 1859, NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, who had given two further land ''tuku'' of 13,200 acres (5,342 hectares) to the Crown, had lost most of their remaining land through speculators. The 700-acre
ÅŒrÄkei block was all that remained. Within a century, this too was compulsorily acquired by the Crown (apart from a cemetery).
Apihai Te Kawau spoke publicly against land sales and in order to safeguard a small amount of land in ÅŒrÄkei for future generations, and Te Kawau obtained a Crown Grant in 1869. In 1873, the
Native Land Court stated that "the land shall be inalienable". A reversal of this government position came with the Validation Of Invalid Land Sales Act 1894. In 1885, the New Zealand Government built a military outpost at Bastion Point, because of its commanding strategic position overlooking the WaitematÄ Harbour, known as Fort Bastion. The outpost was not built on Takaparawha Point, which had earlier been taken by the Government for the same purpose.
In 1886,
the Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
used the Public Works Act 1882 (46 Vict No 37) to take ownership of of Bastion Point for this purpose of defence. From 1913 and 1928, the government bought most of the land that had been previously deemed inalienable. As
Ranganui Walker states, this is by no means a simple case of willful dispossession: "In a long running battle to resist the state and save the land, there were eight actions in the Maori Land Court, four in the Supreme Court, two in the Court of Appeal, two in the Compensation Court, six appearances before Commissions or Committees of Inquiry, and fifteen Parliamentary Petitions. In the end the state prevailed".
In 1936, ÅŒrÄkei was proposed as a site for state housing by the
First Labour Government, and in August a MÄori delegation asked Prime Minister
Savage that at least the marae on the flat foreshore where he had been ceremonially welcomed after his election should be retained by the tribe. Savage was 'somewhat fogged' by the situation and asked for reports, which were not completed when he sailed to Britain for the Coronation and Imperial Conference in 1937. The Labour state housing team
John A. Lee and
Frank Langstone decided that the 120 MÄori living at ÅŒrÄkei were illegal squatters and had to be removed. The incensed ÅŒrÄkei MÄori met Savage on his return from overseas, and he immediately reversed the decision, avoiding what could have been a political crisis. In November 1936, Lee had assured
Walter Nash that the MÄori would be removed without much difficulty; but they refused, and were supported by the Clergy Association, the Protestant churches, the Anglican Bishop, the Friends of Orakei and the ''New Zealand Observer.''
Robin Hyde wrote ''No More Dancing at Orakei''. Lee obtained most of his land, but Langstone's (and the Cabinet's) decision; seen as obtaining MÄori land as a park 'for white children' was reversed. Another motive for their proposal was to weaken
Bill Endean's grip on
Parnell, the only non-Labour seat in Auckland. MÄori from the pÄ met Savages' body when it arrived back in Auckland in 1940.
In 1941, the Crown no longer needed Bastion Point for defence, it did not return the land to its traditional MÄori owners but instead gifted it to the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...
for a reserve. (This was the last of uncommitted land at ÅŒrÄkei that NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei still hoped to get back.)
During World War II, three searchlights were housed in emplacements built at the foot of Bastion Point, and still exist today. Guns, searchlights, and an
anti-submarine boom stretched to
Torpedo Bay near North Head, were installed at the front of the Tamaki Yacht Club, and were later incorporated into the yacht club building.
In 1951, MÄori living in ÅŒrÄkei were evicted and the houses were knocked down. A justification for this eviction was health and sanitation issues, for which the government was ultimately responsible. These issues were created by the city council earlier when a sewer line and road were built along the foreshore which blocked the flow of storm water, creating the quagmire of sanitation problems. At the same time the village at ÅŒkahu Bay was not connected to the city's fresh water supply.
Savage Memorial
The first
Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand
The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023.
The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...
,
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was an Australian-born New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government of New Zealand, First Labour Government from 1935 ...
died in office in 1940, and is buried in an Art Deco mausoleum at Takaparawhau / Bastion Point designed by
Tibor Donner
Tibor Karoly Donner (19 September 1907 – 11 March 1993) was an Austro–Hungarian born New Zealand architect, who was the chief architect for the Auckland City Council from 1947 to 1967.
Personal life
Donner was born in Szabadka, Austria-Hun ...
and Anthony Bartlett with a sculpture by R. O. Gross, built above the disused Fort Britomart. It has large columns, sunken gardens and a reflecting pool which was built in two years by Fletcher Construction for £34,533, with the cost raised by subscription.
The monument was dedicated before a crowd of ten thousand on 28 March 1943, with Savage's remains reinterred in a deep tunnel below the monument. The tomb is inscribed: ''Michael Joseph Savage, 1872–1940, He loved his fellow men.''
Occupation and return

In 1976, the Crown announced that it planned to develop Bastion Point by selling it to the highest bidder for high-income housing.
Joe Hawke, members of his hapÅ« NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, and other activists, formed the Orakei MÄori Action Committee, taking
direct action
Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...
to stop the subdivision. The government claimed that the land had been sold to the Crown, however Hawke claimed that, "This land was not sold – it was confiscated under the Public Works Lands Act".
From 1977 to 1978, the Orakei MÄori Action Committee organised and maintained an
occupation of the remaining Crown land. The occupation began on 5 January 1977, two days before construction of the housing was to start, to prevent its confiscation by the
Muldoon Government.
The occupiers constructed a marae and housing, and grew crops. A fire in a tent on 26 September 1977 caused the death of a young girl named Joanna Hawke, the niece of protest leader Joe Hawke.
The occupation lasted for 506 days; it ended on 25 May 1978,
when 800 police and personnel of the
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...
forcibly removed the occupiers and destroyed the temporary buildings—including vegetable gardens and the marae. Two hundred and twenty two protesters were arrested. The occupation and the use of force to end it played a part in highlighting injustices against MÄori, and the occupation became a major landmark in the history of
MÄori protest.
In 1988, the New Zealand Labour Government returned Takaparawhau / Bastion Point and ÅŒrÄkei Marae to NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei, with compensation, as part of a
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
settlement process. The 1991 ÅŒrÄkei Act was passed to recognise the rights of NgÄti WhÄtua ÅŒrÄkei under the treaty.
Joe Hawke died on 22 May 2022, aged 82 and was buried at Takaparawhau, the land he fought to return to his iwi.
See also
*
MÄori protest movement
The MÄori protest movement is a broad indigenous rights movement in New Zealand (). While there was a range of conflicts between MÄori and PÄkehÄ, European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing prov ...
*
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
*
NgÄti WhÄtua
NgÄti WhÄtua is a MÄori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapÅ« (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...
*
ÅŒrÄkei
*
Coastal fortifications of New Zealand
Gallery
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Television footage of Bastion Point eviction from
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Report on the Orakei claim Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal (MÄori: ''Te RÅpÅ« Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...
Radio NZ sound bite interviews on the 1970s Bastion Point protest."Bastion Point – The Untold Story" clip from documentary
{{Authority control
MÄori politics
MÄori history
Protests in New Zealand
1977 in New Zealand
1978 in New Zealand
Military history of New Zealand
Coastline of New Zealand
Geography of Auckland
1970s in Auckland
WaitematÄ Harbour
ÅŒrÄkei Local Board Area