Story: Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state

In November 1881 the government called up the Taranaki Rifles and other volunteer units from around the country, along with more than 1,000 members of the Armed Constabulary and every able-bodied male in Taranaki province to destroy the pacifist settlement of Parihaka. It was said to be, at the time of the invasion, the largest and most prosperous town in Māori history, and a powerful symbol of Māori kāwanatanga.