Editorial: Mere theft defiles Parihaka history

OPINION: Parihaka is such a special, almost mystical place that it is almost inconceivable that thieves would steal a precious greenstone mere from a glass container on the tomb of one of the Taranaki village's founders.

The sad irony of it all is that the village, founded in 1867 by Te Whiti o Rongomai, quickly became known as a peaceful place, and that reputation remains today.

So it almost beggars belief that an individual or group would be prepared to defile all of that by removing the mere from Te Whiti's tomb.

In some respects it is to be hoped that the theft was committed by some total stranger who entered Parihaka and stole the taonga with the intention of selling it on the black market.

That's because if that wasn't the case, then the other potential reason for the theft must be because of some rift among the people of Parihaka themselves.

What is known is there are many people closely associated with the historic coastal Taranaki village who are deeply hurt by this crime.

As Parihaka elder Wiremu Hohaia says, the loss of one of Te Whiti's few remaining treasures is as significant to Maori as the 2007 theft of the 96 war medals from the Waiouru Army Museum.

During the turbulent period encompassing several years during the second half of the 19th Century, Te Whiti and his followers used peaceful tactics as their way of refusing to surrender their land to European settlement.

Parihaka was stormed by government troops anyway, and Te Whiti was arrested and jailed for 16 months, during which time most of his possessions were confiscated and lost forever.

One possession that did remain with him was the greenstone mere that, following Te Whiti's death in 1907, was eventually encased in the glass case on his tomb at Parihaka.

So culturally and historically the mere is an extremely important artefact, with a value far greater than the money anyone could get from its sale on the black market. It's a very part of Taranaki itself, and everyone – Maori and Pakeha – needs to hope it will be safely returned.

If it isn't, there's the danger that the people of Parihaka will close the gates of their historic village, thus preventing easy public access in the future.

That would be truly tragic, because the story of Parihaka is a story that should never be forgotten as New Zealand continues along its path towards true racial harmony.

- © Fairfax NZ News