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Story: Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation

Land court hearing, 1860s

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Land court hearing, 1860s

Whanganui Māori wait for a Native Land Court hearing, around the late 1860s. Though Māori lived in rural areas they were forced to come into towns for court hearings. Often the costs of attending the hearings ate into the value of the land that was awarded.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, William James Harding Collection (PAColl-3042)

Reference: 1/1-000013; G

by William James Harding

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Richard Boast, Te tango whenua – Māori land alienation – Problems with the Land Court, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/19532/land-court-hearing-1860s (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Richard Boast, published 1 March 2009, updated 1 July 2015.