in case you were wondering how the Wellington area was alienated from Maori ownership, a brief (but reasonably accurate) version lives at the Waitangi Tribunal site here.
It includes information about the tenths trust. There is also some history from the 20-year period before the Treaty was signed which makes interesting reading if you like longer history. And, in case you were wondering, the sale wasn't exactly what you'd call a fair deal.
One of the things that has bothered me for a long time as a Wellingtonian has been my lack of knowledge about who was where when. It has been really nice to learn that the Kapiti Coast was strategically important because it connected with the Sounds (and pounamu). And that quality made it more important than Wellington. Each piece of info makes travelling through this area make much more sense to me.
And Awakairangi is a much, much better name for the river that runs through Heretaunga.
Posted by carla at September 29, 2003 11:08 PM