Story: Māori Land Court – Te Kōti Whenua

In the 1870s Hawke's Bay Māori became so unhappy with the results of land sales that the repudiation movement sprang up. This movement rejected further sales and leases of land, and aimed to overturn past sales and return the income to the buyers. Here repudiation movement leaders are shown with Henry Russell (seated, centre), a Hawke's Bay runholder who allied himself with their aims, although he owned large areas of land that had formerly belonged to Māori.