Parihaka, a place in the North island by Mount Taranaki of New Zealand, was a peaceful place where families could live. Maori children sang and danced, women baked and boys brought in the crops. But when the Pakeha came they moved in and wanted to take the Maori land. They warned the Maori to go out and move somewhere else. As more pakeha moved in, the other English sold the Maori’s land without their permission. They put pegs in the land to mark where they were going to sell the land. But it was the Maori’s land! The Maori didn't understand that so the Maori pulled up the pegs but the pakeha didn't understand so they shot the Maori. Then on the 5th of November 1881 the pakeha came and the Maori children sang and danced with their pois. The women baked loaves of bread for the pakeha. Te Whiti and Tohu, the Chiefs welcomed them with open arms but the pakeha army just went past them and ignored them, burning down their village.
Our task was to think, do you really think all of more than fifteen hundred pakeha soldiers would really want to walk past the children singing and the women greeting them? How do we think they felt? Guy Fawkes is also on today but it happened in England. Parihaka is today but it happened in New Zealand. What do you think we should celebrate and how do you think we could celebrate Parihaka.
