Story: Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation

Loss of Māori land

Loss of Māori land

These maps illustrate the gradual alienation of Māori land in the North Island. In 1860, Māori still held onto most of their land, except for a few areas, particularly Wellington, Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay and parts of Northland. The 1860s saw confiscations of huge areas by the government and large areas of land began to be lost through the effect of the Native Land Court. The period between 1890 and 1920 saw a boom in government land purchases, despite Māori protests. By 1937, very little land was left in Māori ownership.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Source: Claudia Orange, Illustrated history of the Treaty of Waitangi. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2001, pp. 318–319

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Richard Boast, 'Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation - Land tenure and alienation', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/map/19476/loss-of-maori-land (accessed 16 April 2024)

Story by Richard Boast, published 24 Nov 2008, updated 1 Jul 2015