History Daily - The Invasion of Parihaka

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

November 5, 1881. British armed forces march on a Māori settlement in New Zealand, evicting 2,000 residents and destroying the village. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

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It's just after 9 a.m. on November 5th, 1881, on the outskirts of Parihaka, New Zealand. 22-year-old James Wade, Jr., fumbles with a cartridge as he tries to load his rifle. He isn't a soldier. He's a volunteer in the colonial militia, and alongside hundreds of other men, today will be his first taste of combat. Over the last few decades, the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand

have repeatedly clash with British authorities in the country, and now tensions might be about to boil over once again. James finally gets his rifle loaded, just as a bugle sounds, ordering the colonial men forward. They march toward their target, a Maori village that is home to the respected indigenous leader Tefitti. But as James struggles, to keep pace with the other men, he suddenly confronted with something none of them expected. The village isn't guarded by lines of Maori warriors. Instead, the militiamen come face to face with children, singing, dancing, and laughing.

There are adults standing silently behind them, but as far as James can see, none of them are armed or ready for battle. James and the other men clear a path through the children by picking them up, moving them, or simply shoving them aside. And as far as James, As the soldiers then enter the village, the Maori adults suddenly move as one sitting down on the ground. Only then does James spot the figure at their center, an old man with a long beard, Tefiti himself. James raises his rifle and takes aim at the chief. Then he waits for his commanding officers next order. His hands are shaking.

His resolve was rattled when confronted with the children and now the passive sitting adults. But he's in no doubt. He will open fire if necessary. He was a wanted man for defying British colonial authorities in New Zealand. He's no warrior. He supports non-violent resistance. But his pacifism won't save his village, nor will it halt the suffering of his people. After the campaign for Maori rights is dealt a crushing blow during the forced eviction of Perihaka on November 5, 1881. 5 and 6th-kerrocks in vitcunoes in

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every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is November 5, 1881, the invasion of Perihaka. It's February 5th, 1840, in Waitangi, New Zealand, 40 years before British troops enter Perihaka. Forty-eight-year-old Captain William Hobson steps into a large tent that's been pitched outside a farmhouse. The farm often hosts British Army officers and settlers, but today's guests are different. Sitting inside the tent, surrounded by British flags, dozens of Maori chiefs wear flak skirts with their upper bodies bare. In contrast, Captain Thompson wears a heavy wool suit and sweat

trickles down his back in the summer heat. But Thompson tries his best to ignore his discomfort. He has an important job to do. 71 years ago, the explorer Captain James Cook became the first recorded European to step foot on the island's later named New Zealand. Since then, though, colonization of the country has been slow. While neighboring Australia has been used as a British penal colony, New Zealand has been almost completely ignored,

attracting only a few pioneering settlers. But recently, the British government in London has grown uneasy. They've realized that if they don't take full control of New Zealand now, one of their European rivals surely will. So Captain Hobson was dispatched from London with orders to secure a treaty with the Maori, Since arriving in the country a week ago, he's moved quickly to arrange a meeting with the local tribal chiefs and draft a treaty with them.

According to the terms of the document, the Maori will cede sovereignty of New Zealand and give up their land to the British crown. But the Maori have no concept of individual landownership. To them, their home belongs to everyone, and that makes it impossible for them to give it away. That hasn't deterred Captain Hobson from drawing up what he thinks will be a binding document.

With a flourish, he places the draft. treaty on the table in the middle of the tent. Then he begins to read from the document. Only the British contingent in the tent understands everything Hobson is saying. The Maori chiefs just wait patiently until he's finished. And once he's read the treaty aloud, Captain Hobson nods to another Englishman standing beside him. Reverend Henry Williams has lived in New Zealand for the past 17 years, and he's learned the Maori language. He's been up all night translating the treaty, and now it's his turn to explain what Hobson just said to the chiefs. Captain Homson carefully watches the faces of the Maori as Reverend Williams goes through the treaty point by point.

At first, the Chiefs look confused. But when Reverend Williams gets to the part about placing the Maori under the protection of the British crown, their face is brightened. By the time Reverend Williams has finished, many of the Chiefs look pleased. Captain Homson smiles with relief. He feared that the Maori would reject his proposals, but it seems he was worried about nothing. The negotiations last throughout the rest of the day, and when dusk falls, the Maori chiefs retire to a riverside camp, their fires burning through the night as they talk over the British proposal. The next morning, more than half of the chiefs return to the tent on the farm and declare they are willing to sign. Surrounded by British Army officers and settler families, the chiefs make their marks on the treaty one by one, as a beaming Captain Hobson repeats a few memorized words of thanks in Maori.

It's a good start for the British, but the chiefs in the tent represent only a fraction of the Maori tribes across New Zealand. So over the next few weeks, Hobson travels to secure the agreement of more chiefs. Copies of the Treaty of Waitangi are steadily circulated in the more remote regions, and within three months, more than 500 chiefs have signed up. This gives Captain Hobson the confidence to report back to London that his mission has been a success. New Zealand now belongs to the British crown, and it's all been done without firing a shot. But this annexation does not remain peaceful for long. When British surveyors arrive and start staking out parcels of land for European settlers,

the Maori erupt in anger. British authorities try to calm the tensions, pointing out that the Treaty of Waitangi gives them the right to take the property, but the Maori disagreed, arguing they only signed to share the land, not surrender it. Soon, whatever goodwill there was between the two sides will unravel. Both the Maori and the British will harden their positions, convinced that they are in the right, until eventually the issue of who controls New Zealand will be settled not by words but by blood.

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a-a-e-l-l-l-l-l- Elis-u-a-l all-u-lety , It's no longer corkoes and culloes. It's November 27, 1868, in Nukamaro, New Zealand, 28 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. On horseback, 35-year-old Lieutenant John Bryce canters to the edge of the farm owned by a colonial settler. He can see several members of his volunteer militia already lined up along a rickety fence there,

keeping an eager lookout for any trouble. Earlier today, Lieutenant Bryce received a panic message from the farmer who works this land. He spotted a group of Maori trespassers and wanted the militia's help to drive them off. Lieutenant Bryce quickly rallied his men and rode out. It's not the first time Bryce has had to deal with a situation like this. There have been often violent clashes with the Maori for decades now, beginning only shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Scirmishes broke out between European settlers and Maori tribes

and as the conflict escalated, the British government in London feared they had a full-scale rebellion on their hands, so they deployed thousands of troops to quell the unrest. Still, despite being outnumbered by as many as four to one, the Maori held their own, refusing to give up any more of their land. So as the fighting continued, many settlers joined volunteer militias, seeming to believe that the only way to make the Maori understand that they did not control New Zealand was through brute force. Now, as Lieutenant Bryce and his men ride onto the Settlers' farm, they prepare themselves for another confrontation. They soon find that a group of Maori have encroached onto the land, but it's not a war party. It's a dozen children, all aged around 10, chasing the farmer's pigs and geese through the fields.

Still, the children are a nuisance, and they shouldn't be here. So Lieutenant Bryce draws his saber and tells his men to move the youngsters on. As Lieutenant Bryce kicks his horse forward, the children turn and run. But before they get too far, a shot cracks out and one of the boys crumbles to the ground. The militia men wook and set off in pursuit of the other children, with Bryce doing nothing to stop them. When the dust settles, two Maori children are dead. But despite complaints from the indigenous community,

Lieutenant Bryce is not punished for his actions by the British authorities, and instead his involvement in the killings makes him a folk hero among the colonists. Over the next few years, Bryce turns that notoriety into political power. He's elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1871, and then in 1879, he's appointed Minister of Native Affairs. It's in that post that Bryce does all he can to limit the rights for the Maori people and promote the further expansion of colonial settlements. He dismantles the office that arbitrates disputes between the two sides, and he uses laws

introduced under the suppression of Rebellion Act to order the arrest of any Maori leader he claims is stirring revolt. But there is one indigenous leader Bryce struggles to deal with. Unlike many of the other Maori chiefs, Tofitti advocates for strictly nonviolent protest that makes it difficult for Bryce to justify detaining him under the suppression of Rebellion Act. Because rather than fight with the British, Tefitti urges his fellow Maori to join him in a community called Parihaka. This thriving town soon becomes the largest Maori settlement in New Zealand. farmers grow potatoes and melons in the fields. There's a bakery, a bank, and a police force.

And as the town grows and grows, so too does Tefitti's influence in national politics. As Minister of Native Affairs, John Bryce decides he needs to do something before Tefitti becomes too powerful. So he issues a ruling that says Parihaka is an illegal settlement on confiscated land and that Tofitti and his followers must move on. Quietly, though, Bryce does not want the Maori to leave peaceful. He wants a confrontation. So he will pick up his saber again and take personal command of the forces

sent to evicta town. The massacre at the farm in Nukamaru made his name. Now he'll make sure that the Maori learn a lesson that will be remembered for generations. It's November 5th, 1881, in Parihaka, New Zealand,

two weeks after the Maori were issued an ultimatum to leave the area. As a British writer dismounts before him, 51-year-old Tefitti sits calmly on the ground, his hands resting in his lap. To Fitti is careful to keep his expression neutral because he recognizes the man at the head of the British troops that's John Bryce, the minister of Native Affairs.

To Fitti stays seated, his voice measured, as he invites Bryce to join him so he can discuss a peaceful resolution. But Bryce refuses. He declares that the Maori have had 14 days to talk, and now the deadline has passed. By remaining here, they are all breaking the law. With a sharp gesture, Rice signals two of his soldiers forward to arrest Tiffany.

As he's dragged away, Tifiti calls out to his people, reminding them to stand firm and meet any violence with calm. The Maori obey their leader, but their pacifism does not protect them from Bryce's rage. Over the next few hours, the men of Parihaka are beaten. Its women are raped, and then its buildings are looted, torn down, and set ablaze.

By the time the colonial troops are finished, little is left at Tifiti's once thriving. community. Tafiti himself will be detained without trial for 16 months. When he's eventually released, he will return to Parihaka and try to rebuild what Bryce's men destroyed. The damage cannot be undone, and over the next few decades, Maori riots will continue to be eroded by successive colonial governments. Only much later in the 20th century, Willowong suffered by the Maori people be recognized and attempts finally be made to reverse years of injustice and suffering. In 1995, Queen Elizabeth II will offer a general apology to the Maori for the land stolen by the British

during the Victorian era. But it will take another 22 years for a full and direct apology to be made for the violent invasion and forced eviction of the town of Parahaka that occurred on November 5, 1881. Next on History Daily, November 6, 963 CE, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I convenes a convention of clergymen to overthrow the Pope. From Noisor and airship, this is is History Daily, boasted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, audio editing by Mohamed Shazzy, sound design by Molly Bond, music by Thrum. This episode is written and research by Owen Paul Nichols, edited by Scott Reeves, managing producer Emily Byrth. Executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.