In 1988 a statue representing Polynesian navigator Kupe in iron shackles with two taniwha at his feet was unveiled at Whāingaroa (Raglan) by the Māori queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu. The statue commemorated the 10th anniversary of the arrest of 17 demonstrators, led by Eva Rickard, who were protesting against the use of tapu land for a golf course. At the unveiling, keys were presented to the 17 people arrested, so they could symbolically cast off the chains of the past. As Kupe Rickard explains, the protest, which drew national attention to grievances about Māori land, was ultimately successful.
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