Salutary Punishment : Taranaki Maori Prisoners in Dunedin 1869-72 and 1879-81

The publishing of this book has been a long-awaited event for those who knew the years of research Ian Church put into it. The content will be to some, a story they have never been told, but it is a part of our past we should all learn. As a young teacher in Patea in the 1970s Ian noticed the scars and stories on our landscape, when few others did. He asked questions and recorded information that most thought unimportant.>/p>

The title Salutary Punishment is deliberately provoking and patronizing. It is quoted from a statement made by Lieutenant-Colonel St John in 1873, speaking of the Otago Prisoners. An example of the unfortunate state of our Nation at the time. /p>

In November 2019 it will be 150 years since 74 men from Te Pakakohi tribe in the Patea area were sent to Dunedin as prisoners of the Crown. By putting tribal allegiance first Pakakohi automatically became guilty of treason. A decade later 137 Parihaka men received the same prison sentence for ploughing their confiscated land as a sign of passive resistance to this action. These were dark days in the history of our country, but the telling of these times is more important today than ever. Ka mua, ka muri; we must look back in order to move forward.

"After a chance phone call to Ians sister Pat Greer in 2017, she asked me if Patea Historical Society could arrange for this book to be published. Kelvin Day was the next call I made, to see what he thought we should do. Kelvin and Ian were old friends, and he immediately agreed to edit the book and oversee the publishing process. Kelvins part in this has been immense and I know Ian would be so grateful.Book designer; Caitlin Finnerty has been a constant part of this process too. We wanted something simple and beautiful to present this story and the images with, and she has done that with such ease. Mention must also be made of Darren Ngarewa, he has been a vital source of local Maori history when Ive had questions, especially names of Te Pakakohi prisoners, some of which were his ancestors. He has helped me understand the story better and continue the conversation that Ian has startedsomething we hope this book will do for many people in Aotearoa.

Whatungarongaro te tangata toitu te whenua. As man disappears from sight, the land remains

Featured in the 23 December 2019 New Zealand newsletter.
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