Ōrākei

Beaches, lagoons and significant Māori sites dot this picturesque coastal suburb. 

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This land is significant to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Ōrākei papakāinga, Whenua Rangatira (including Takaparawhau, Ōkahu) and Pourewa make up part of the original 700 acre Ōrākei papakāinga. Takaparawhau (Bastion Point) is a living symbol of Māori land issues that culminated in 1978. In 1976, long after Takaparawhau was taken in the late 1800s as part of the government’s response to the “Russian scares” (hoax articles that enticed fear into New Zealanders that the Russian Navy had invaded ), the government announced its intent to subdivide and sell the land as a high-income housing project. In response to the sale of the land, Ngāti Whātua protestors and supporters peacefully occupied the land for 506 days. In 1978, the government sent in armed forces from the police and army to evict the occupiers, with more than 200 occupiers arrested for trespassing, their temporary meeting house, buildings, and gardens were demolished. It wasn’t for another decade that Takaparawhau and Ōrākei Marae were returned to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei as part of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.