The Maori Land March
Storyboard Text
- On September 14th, 50 Marchers left Cape Reinga and begun a 29 day walk to Parliament in Wellington (100km). The march was the length of the north island. It was led by 80 year old Whina Cooper.
- Rewi Maniapoto
- Throughout their journey, the amount of marchers and supporters increased. The event was highly publicised bringing light to the hardships Maori citizens faced daily (as well as their ancestors) The marchers were a tight knit community bonding over fighting for their rights. They would stay at different Marae overnight after a long day of walking.
- The Waitangi Tribunal Act
- Approved
- One of their major milestones in the journey was crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The distance from Cape Reinga is 425km and they had around 640km to go. On the television news report one marcher said "This has been the first time where Maori people have come together as a united voice."
- During the March, they visited the grave of Rewi Maniapoto. This was a significant event because they were very far into their march and were exhausted. They started singing and praying for strength. It was a very beautiful moment, where they got to celebrate how far they had come and build their spiritual strength.
- The Waitangi Tribunal Act was also established during 1975. It's purpose was to investigate unfair land dealings and determine the best course of action.
- On October 13th 1975, They reached parliament and handed the petition, that had 60,000 signatures supporting the right of Maori, to Bill Rowling (The new zealand prime minister at the time)
Over 30 Million Storyboards Created