The Maori Facts

 

*************************** It's a given, Lieutenant James Cook RN "discovered" Aotearoa in 1769 and renames it New Zealand. In 1795, the first of many whalers and sealers arrived for a bountiful harvest, mostly Americans and Scandinavians. Headquarters for most ships to resupply and get some R&R at Kororareka now called Russell. It was colloquially called the Hell Hole of the South Pacific. The local iwi, Nga Puhi were not overly impressed. *************************** In 1825, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, formed the New Zealand Company designed specically to sell Maori Land to English settlers. The tide had turned for Maori. *************************** At the time of Governer Grey (1847 to 1853) a rough census was conducted to tally numbers of Maori in Aotearoa. Backed by former Maori politician Tau Henare, Maori numbers were estimated to be 56,000. *************************** In the 1860's, The New Zealand Wars fought between Pakeha Colonists and British Armed Forces and disenchanted Maori. The estimate made was that Maori lost 2,300 warriors to those wars. *************************** In 1920 a national census was conducted and Maori numbers had dropped alarmingly, to 42,000. Many fought in the first WWI and lost their lives but not 14,000. The biggest threat to Maori existence wwere not through violent acts but by diseases introduced by settlers, those being, Chicken Pox, Small Pox, Measles, Whoughing Cough and influenza. 95% of that 42,000 were full blooded Maori. Maori were destined to follow many other colonial empires around the world where many native peoples had vanished. *************************** It was common practice soon after for Moari Elders to get their young whanau to marry into Pakeha families in the mid to late 20th Century. Due to that decision, we now find that as of 2024 census, 912,000 people in this country now identify as Maori. *************************** With a populatioon of 5,400,000, Aotearoa New Zealand has a diverse ethnic make up. 16.2% identify as Maori, 58.6% identify as Kiwi, 3% identify as ethnic European, PI's at 8.1%, Asian at 14.1% and the remainder at 2%