1878: Maori Land Court Ruckus in Maketu

June 4, 2020

By AHNZ

Today in New Zealand history, 4 June, 1878: A bad day at the Maori Land Court in Maketu for Judge Theophilus Heale.

Heale, by the 1870s, had diminished in his role in the New Zealand state. Earlier in our history, Heale was the captain of the Aurora- the first settler ship of the New Zealand Company that set up the future capital of Wellington. Later, Heale switched sides to join the Hobson Gang in the hopes of launching the Cornwallis Settlement. Unfortunately his collaborator was killed, possibly eaten, by a shark. Heale was back in charge of New Zealand in the Fitzroy Gang though, serving on that Legislative Council during the time of the Flagstaff War of 1845. However, in his later years, Captain Heale became a judge for the Maori Land Court.

Maketu

This Bay of Plenty settlement, Maketu (Maketu Pa, image right) has a very long and sometimes bloody history. Legend has it an original landing place for Maori colonists from their original homeland. Captain Cook observed thousands of habitations on his visit. By the 1860s the proprietary tribe, the Arawa, had absented themselves to profitable Auckland until they heard that rivals from the East Coast were trespassing. Thus in 1864 the Arawa in their substantial shipping fleet were back like a shot to battle and dispel the Kingite interlopers.

Naturally all this fighting and mixing and leaving and coming back tangled up a nasty family squabble for the Arawa. Happily, the various hapu recoursed to British law rather than violence and so gained a reputation for being the “ever litigious Arawa.”¹

Court in Session

The Land Court building had been destroyed by fire in 1877, an act of God in the opinions of locals as payment for all the lies told therein.² Thus, Judge Heale (image left) had a newly built courthouse in which to preside though it was said to be an ugly one. This was the scene of the fight.

An armed party of Whakaue hapu occupied the court and repelled the police! The Maori witness about to give his evidence had the Bible snatched right out of his hands and he was dragged away. The occupiers forced poor old Judge Heale to adjourn the dispute hearing.

The newspapers say these troublemakers from Rotorua were greatly in a minority and would be easy to cut down to size if the local Arawa lost their temper. But they did not. The agitators didn’t even have any issue with the particular case at hand, it was just a shake down. By causing trouble they were seeking to be paid off the way a baby throws a tantrum or a late 2010s SJW projected distress.

All was put right when John Sheehan  turned up to settle things down. In Premier George Grey’s Ministry he was, at this moment, The Minister of Justice and Native Minister. Sheehan was the first New Zealand born MHR and, as did Heale, spoke fluent Maori.

The whole affair ended with a chief’s fat Maori wife dancing, beer, guns firing into the sky, and the rubbing of noses. Theophilus Heale was able to get back to writing books about mathematical surveying and completing his observations of the Transit of Venus.

—

1  Ref. Law and Order at Maketu; A. Matheson; lowerkaituna.co.nz

2 ibid

Ref. Ref. Bay of Plenty Times, 5 June 1878; Papers Past
Ref. Evening Post, 7 June 1878; Papers Past
Bay of Plenty Times, 22 June 1878; Papers Past

Ref. More details of this story may potentially be contained in Maketu MB No.02 which covers this time period according to the very new web-search function for the Maori Land Court Minute Books (let me know if you find anything)

Image ref. A Few Good Men (1992)

Image ref. Entrance to Maketu Pa, 1866; Sir George Grey Special Collections

Image Ref. Heale’s portrait as a MHR for 1860

Image Ref. John Sheehan; wiki

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