Opotiki Confiscation

Description

Archive SummaryList of records held in the Hamilton Office of the Department of Survey and Land Information. One box (containing the contents of three original boxes) of copies of papers comprising the Opotiki records of the Compensation Court set up under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 and Amendments.NameOpotiki ConfiscationPresented ByDr Evelyn Stokes, Department of Geography, University of Waikato.Finding aids38 pages of notes list the organisation of the three original boxes and the arrangement of the original folders within each box.LocationStorage - New Zealand Rare Books.AccessRequest access to the physical archive

Kereopa Te Rau, who had long been sought by the colonial authorities for his part in the killing of the Reverend Carl Volkner, was captured in the Urewera country in November 1871 by Ngati Porou, under the command of Ropata Wahawaha. He was brought to Napier by steamer and handed over to the police on November 28. As he was taken over the threshhold of the prison he slashed his throat with a concealed razor, but prompt medical attention saved his life. In this photograph, the piupiu (flax skirt) around his shoulders conceals the scar of the razor wound. Kereopa was hanged on 5 January, 1872. The New Zealand government acknowledged his trial was a miscarriage of justice and he was pardoned in 1992 with legislation passed in 2013 to restore his reputation. Kereopa Te Rau. Ref: 1/4-022022-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22675527

Connections

CollectionArchives Held by the Library - Non Digitised