Ko Taranaki Te Maunga

In 1881, over 1,500 colonial troops invaded the village of Parihaka near the Taranaki coast. Many people were expelled, buildings destroyed, and chiefs Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi were jailed.

In this BWB Text, Rachel Buchanan tells her own, deeply personal story of Parihaka. Beginning with the death of her father, a man with affiliations to many of Taranaki’s eight iwi, she describes her connection to Taranaki, the land and mountain; and the impact of confiscation. Buchanan discusses the apologies and settlements that have taken place since te pāhuatanga, the invasion of Parihaka.