History Trip to Takaparawhā

On Friday 26th March, the Year 11 History class went on a trip to Takaparawhā (Bastion Point) and the National Library as part of our topic on Māori activism in New Zealand. We were joined by our guide, National Library Educationalist Specialist, Tereora Crane who gave us more insight into the occupation at Takaparawhā, which began in 1977.

He initiated a discussion on why the 506-day occupation at Takaparawhā occurred and we saw firsthand Okahu Bay, the Waitematā harbour and large grassy plains surrounding the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial. We passed the local church and cemetery which was, at one point in time, the only piece of land left in the possession of Ngāti Whātua due to land confiscations. For a more in-depth understanding of the occupation, Tereora Crane also related this occupation to many other major events happening in New Zealand during that time period, such as the 1979 Haka Party incident.

A short drive brought us to the National Library in Parnell where Anne Dickson gave us an overview of research on Māori activism. She also handed out a sheet of suggested resources, focusing on curated websites, for us to use. We also learnt how to search for information on websites efficiently and took a tour of the National Library website to see how we could find specific information that is related to our topic.

Through this experience, our class has gained a better understanding of the Takaparawhā occupation and also a better understanding of the context of this event.

by Angela Liao and Aaminah Ali (11 History)