Eva Rickard campaigning for land rights at Nambassa 1979

Tuaiwa Hautai "Eva" Rickard (née Kereopa; 19 April 1925 – 6 December 1997) rose to prominence as an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

for

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land u ...

and for

women’s rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

within Māoridom. She was born in Raglan. Her methods included public

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a stat ...

and she is best known for leading the occupation of the Raglan golf course in the 1970s.

Biography

Eva Rickard was most notably regarded for her decade long, very public

campaigns to have ancestral lands alongside Raglan harbour returned to the local tribes and

mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

'' (power, effectiveness) and culture recognized. During the Second World War, the New Zealand Government took land from indigenous Māori owners by acquisition for the purpose of a military

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. The land was not returned to the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are ...

Awhiro peoples following the war; instead, a block was turned into a public Raglan golf course in 1969. Throughout the 1970s Rickard campaigned to raise public awareness about Māori

. After attempting to reoccupy this ancestral indigenous land in 1978, she was arrested for

trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels Trespass to chattels is a tort whereby the infringing party has intentionally (or, in Australia, negligently) interfered with ...

along with another 19 Māori protesters on the ninth hole of the Raglan golf course. This incident was captured by New Zealand television. Their court appearances led to the return of the indigenous land. After the land was returned, it became a focus for local job-training and employment programs, as well as a focus for the Māori sovereignty movement. The

Mana Māori Movement The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Mana ...

was the largest wholly Māori political party, founded by Rickard, and contested the

2002 New Zealand general election The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposi ...

. Mana Māori incorporated the smaller Te Tawharau and Piri Wiri Tua parties. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Mana Motuhake joined the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

(a broad left-wing coalition). Rickard was an ardent advocate for

within Māoridom and encouraged other female activists to ignore traditional Māori protocol by calling for Māori women to speak at official Māori gatherings, including on the

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term ...

. At her official '' tangi'' (funeral) where she was interred on the land she had spent a decade fighting to have returned to her people, Māori activist Annette Sykes when attempting to speak, had to endure cries of "you sit down, you have no right to speak." Here Annette Sykes stood up and publicly challenged men to recognise the mana of Māori women.

References

Other sources

*Obituary in ''New Zealand Herald'' of 9 December 1997 page A16 *Eva Rickard and other

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

on Radio New Zealand's

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

- Te Tiriti o Waitangi Focus program, describing their long campaigns for Māori land rights and self-determinatio

*Eva Rickards' letter to the Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen of the United Kingdom, 13 September 1995

External links

If Christ came to Raglan

Rickard on Māori women

Official Treaty of Waitangi Information Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Eva Leaders of political parties in New Zealand People from Raglan, New Zealand 1925 births 1997 deaths New Zealand women activists Māori activists New Zealand Māori feminists 1978 in New Zealand Mana Māori Movement politicians Mana Motuhake politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1987 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election

Biography

See also

References

Other sources

External links