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Waitangi Tribunal refers to Hector McDonald

Kete Horowhenua2020-03-23T16:49:52+00:00

In Chapter 8 Hector McDonald is mentioned several times. The first reference is as follows - click on the web link to see the full PDF of Chapter 8:

Kukutauaki 1872 to 1885:


In April Grindell went back up the coast to get the survey under way and follow up some applications. The difficulties that Horowhenua presented were evident right from the start, Grindell reporting his concerns about the presence of Hunia in the district, calling him an ‘extremely violent and unreasonable man’ who, if he were associated with the survey in any way, might be the cause of its downfall.12 In an attempt to counter Hunia’s influence with the Muaupoko, Grindell enlisted Hector McDonald, a long-established Pakeha settler at Horowhenua, on the side of the survey. He had also arranged for the Rangitane chief Hoani Meihana to travel with the survey party while it was at Horowhenua, to keep the Muaupoko, in Grindell’s opinion, ‘an excessively mulish and obstinate people’, in check. Grindell was anticipating difficulties because he had found the Muaupoko, on his second visit to them, still very hesitant about the survey. He had explained to them that since Kemp and his allies had sent in an application covering the whole of the coast, a survey had become a necessity. Despite his explanation of the purpose of and reason for the survey, Muaupoko had absolutely refused to allow any Ngati Raukawa onto their land to point out any boundaries, apparently believing that this would be in some way an acknowledgment of right. Grindell had told them that since the different sections of Ngati Raukawa were making separate applications for their own portions of the tribal domain, Muaupoko would have to make a similar application for the land they occupied. This had lead to much ‘tedious talk’.13 Eventually the chief, Te Rangi Rurupuni, had announced himself in favour of the survey, in order that the dispute might be determined by the court. This did not, as might have been expected, settle the matter, but it was finally decided that after the tribe had consulted with some absent friends, an application would be forwarded to Wellington. Grindell clearly considered that this would mean Muaupoko resistance to the survey would end, since Hunia could have no objection to the survey: his name was on the application for a title investigation already received from Wanganui.