This diagram indicates the complicated system of village rūnanga, or councils, introduced by Governor George Grey in 1861. The system was intended to apply to 'the whole native territory', which would be divided into about 20 districts, each under an Pākehā civil commissioner. Each district would be further divided into smaller units controlled by chiefs, native magistrates, wardens and other officers. In practice, few of these rūnanga were formed or proved long-lasting.
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Source: Lindsay Cox, Kotahitanga: the search for Maori political unity. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1993
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