The Bastion Point Protest 1977-1978
Bastion Point (Takaparawhau in Maori) is a coastal piece of land in Orakei, Auckland New Zealand, overlooking the Waitemata Harbour.
In 1977, the government decided that they no longer needed the land at Bastion Point, which they had been used in previous years by the military. The local Iwi, Ngati Whatua, who the land had originally belonged to, believed that the land would be returned to them when it was no longer needed for the military. However this was not the case, as the government announced plans to develop the land at Bastion Point into luxury housing, with none of the land being returned to the Iwi. Two days before construction was due to begin on the housing at Bastion Point, members of Ngati Whatua, led by Joe Hawke, and occupied the land in an act of peaceful protest. The constant media coverage of the occupation raised awareness for Maori land grievances throughout New Zealand. Members of the public from New Zealand, and from around the world occupied the site in support of the protest, including the internationally known country singer John Denver.
In February of 1978, after many months of striking, the government offered some of the land at Bastion Point back to the Iwi, but at a price. The protestors rejected this offer from the government and continued their peaceful occupation of the land. By late May 1978, the government were becoming frustrated with the actions of the protestors and wanted them off the land. As a result of this the Police forcibly removed over 200 protestors that were occupying the land. The occupation had lasted 506 days. It was not until 10 years later during a Waitangi Tribunal hearing, during the first claim that the tribunal had heard, that the land at Bastion Point, or as it was called by the Maori Takaparawha, was returned to Ngati Whatua, along with other land and compensation for their grievances.
In 1977, the government decided that they no longer needed the land at Bastion Point, which they had been used in previous years by the military. The local Iwi, Ngati Whatua, who the land had originally belonged to, believed that the land would be returned to them when it was no longer needed for the military. However this was not the case, as the government announced plans to develop the land at Bastion Point into luxury housing, with none of the land being returned to the Iwi. Two days before construction was due to begin on the housing at Bastion Point, members of Ngati Whatua, led by Joe Hawke, and occupied the land in an act of peaceful protest. The constant media coverage of the occupation raised awareness for Maori land grievances throughout New Zealand. Members of the public from New Zealand, and from around the world occupied the site in support of the protest, including the internationally known country singer John Denver.
In February of 1978, after many months of striking, the government offered some of the land at Bastion Point back to the Iwi, but at a price. The protestors rejected this offer from the government and continued their peaceful occupation of the land. By late May 1978, the government were becoming frustrated with the actions of the protestors and wanted them off the land. As a result of this the Police forcibly removed over 200 protestors that were occupying the land. The occupation had lasted 506 days. It was not until 10 years later during a Waitangi Tribunal hearing, during the first claim that the tribunal had heard, that the land at Bastion Point, or as it was called by the Maori Takaparawha, was returned to Ngati Whatua, along with other land and compensation for their grievances.