Moutoa Gardens
Encyclopedia
Moutoa Gardens, also known as Pakaitore, is a park in the city of Wanganui
, New Zealand. Named after the Battle of Moutua Island in the Second Taranaki War
, it contains a memorial to the battle inscribed "To the memory of the brave men who fell at Moutoa, 14 May 1864, in defence of law and order against fanaticism and barbarism." It also contained a statue of John Ballance
, organiser of a volunteer cavalry troop in Titokowaru's War
and later Premier of New Zealand.
Historically, Pakaitore was a traditional fishing settlement for hundreds of years and later became a marketplace. The area was considered a sanctuary where all tribes were equal and the police could not enter. Between 1839 and 1848 the New Zealand Company purchased Whanganui lands on behalf of the crown from people and tribes who may have had little or no claim to it.
The park was occupied for 79 days in 1995 in protest over a Treaty of Waitangi
claim, an action which split the town and the nation and garnered significant attention from police. Local iwi
claim the site was the location of a pa
and trading site, left to Māori in the 1848 sale of Wanganui. During the protest, the statue of Ballance was beheaded and is yet to be replaced.
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
, New Zealand. Named after the Battle of Moutua Island in the Second Taranaki War
Second Taranaki War
-Background and causes of the war:The conflict in Taranaki had its roots in the First Taranaki War, which had ended in March 1861 with an uneasy truce. Neither side fulfilled the terms of the truce, leaving many of the issues unresolved...
, it contains a memorial to the battle inscribed "To the memory of the brave men who fell at Moutoa, 14 May 1864, in defence of law and order against fanaticism and barbarism." It also contained a statue of John Ballance
John Ballance
John Ballance served as the 14th Premier of New Zealand at the end of the 19th century, and was the founder of the Liberal Party .-Early life:...
, organiser of a volunteer cavalry troop in Titokowaru's War
Titokowaru's War
-Cause and background of the war:The immediate cause of the war was the confiscation of vast areas of Māori land in Taranaki by the Government under the powers of the punitive New Zealand Settlements Act 1863...
and later Premier of New Zealand.
Historically, Pakaitore was a traditional fishing settlement for hundreds of years and later became a marketplace. The area was considered a sanctuary where all tribes were equal and the police could not enter. Between 1839 and 1848 the New Zealand Company purchased Whanganui lands on behalf of the crown from people and tribes who may have had little or no claim to it.
The park was occupied for 79 days in 1995 in protest over a Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
claim, an action which split the town and the nation and garnered significant attention from police. Local iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
claim the site was the location of a pa
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
and trading site, left to Māori in the 1848 sale of Wanganui. During the protest, the statue of Ballance was beheaded and is yet to be replaced.