Parihaka

Where can I find information about Parihaka?

(Years 7-10)

Black and white photo of Parihaka showing the whare (houses) and Taranaki Maunga (Mount Egmont) in the background. — Image: Parihaka by Josiah Martin on DigitalNZ.

Entry last updated: 11/05/26

Introduction

Parihaka is a Māori settlement in Taranaki. It was founded in the mid 1860s by Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi. At this time land was being divided up and sold to European settlers. Māori leaders encouraged the people of Parihaka to defend their land by peaceful means. The government grew angry with this resistance. On 5 November 1881, it ordered troops to enter Parihaka. The people did not fight back, but the leaders were arrested, and most of the settlement was destroyed.

In 2017, the New Zealand government formally apologised to the people of Parihaka.

Parihaka leaders

The leaders listed below played important roles at Parihaka.

Te Whiti o Rongomai III (?–1907): Prophet, peaceful activist, Māori leader.

Tohu Kākahi (1828–1907): Prophet, Māori leader.

Riwha Tītokowaru (?–1888): Prophet, Māori leader.

John Bryce (1833–1913): Politician, Minister Native Affairs, leader of the armed invasion of Parihaka.

Sir John Hall (1824–1907): New Zealand Prime Minister.

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB)

DNZB is part of Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand. It has information about the lives and achievements of famous New Zealanders from the 17th to 21st centuries. You can use this site to learn more about the people listed above.

Use the Biographies search box to enter a name.
Or browse last names by alphabet.

Tips: Sites that have .govt.nz or .ac.nz are from NZ government or educational organisations. We like sites like this because they’re reliable and relevant to us.

Peaceful resistance

The Parihaka community chose to resist government efforts to confiscate their land by peaceful methods rather than armed action. You can read about their non-violent protests on the websites below.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about Aotearoa New Zealand. If we look down to the bottom of the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

Use the search bar to enter 'Parihaka'.
Select the articles Te Whiti and Tohu — Parihaka and Resistance to read about the role of the two Māori leaders and their peace campaign in Taranaki.
Then go to Taranaki region to read how Parihaka was a centre for peaceful resistance in the late 1870s.

NZ History

NZ History is another great website for information about Aotearoa New Zealand. This website also belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

Enter the keyword 'Parihaka' in the search box.
Choose Parihaka ploughing campaign begins as an example of non-violent methods used by the people of Parihaka.

Hōpara Kaupapa | Topic Explorer

Topic Explorer is from the National Library of New Zealand. It has quality resources on different topics for school students.

Use the search bar to enter 'Parihaka'.
Select Parihaka — Te Whiti-o-Rongomai III and Tohu Kākahi for information on how they led the protest at Parihaka.
Then go to Parihaka — peaceful protest and seeking justice to learn about peaceful resistance in Parihaka and the events following the invasion.
Select the tab Primary source if this is what you want to look at.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have .govt meaning they are from government organisations. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Christchurch City Libraries

Christchurch City Libraries has many pages about New Zealand topics. These have links to further information and related links.

Choose Explore along the top of the page and then Te ao Māori.
Then select Tāhuhu Kōrero - History.
Now choose Parihaka.
This page has information, along with lots of links to online resources, audio, video and a list of books about Parihaka.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more.

Tips: Sometimes information about Parihaka could be upsetting. It may be helpful to talk to someone you trust.

The invasion of Parihaka

The invasion of Parihaka by armed government forces took place on 5 November 1881 and was led by John Bryce, Minister of Native Affairs. The websites below will help you understand what took place.

DigitalNZ

DigitalNZ is a search site that focuses on New Zealand history and brings together results from New Zealand libraries, museums, universities and government sites all at once.

Use the search bar to enter the keywords 'Parihaka invasion'.
Choose from images, articles, audio, video, newspapers and more, using the tabs along the top of the page.
For example, go to the images to look at a photo of The invasion of Parihaka.

Tips: Websites that have .org or .net in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About DigitalNZ link on the website to find out what the organisation’s mission and values are.

NZ History

NZ History is a great website for information about New Zealand. This website also belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

Enter the keyword 'Parihaka' into the search at the top of the page.
Then choose Te rā o te pāhua – invasion of pacifist settlement at Parihaka.

NZ On Screen

This website has a large collection of New Zealand television, film, music video and web series.

Choose search at the top of the page.
Enter the keyword 'Parihaka'.
Choose from the results.
Whare Taonga - Te Pā o Parihaka is a Māori language TV episode. You can select the CC button for English subtitles.
Or watch Tātarakihi - The Children of Parihaka or Tim Finn's music video Parih ka.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About Us link on this website to find out what the company’s mission and values are.

Primary sources

Primary sources are recorded first-hand experiences of people. They can be in the form of a recount, book, photograph, letter, diary, article, speech, data, video recording or image etc.

DigitalNZ

Digital NZ is a great website for primary sources.

Enter the keyword 'Parihaka' into the search box.
Next, filter your results so that you are only looking at sources created at the time of the event. Do this by choosing Decades, and then the decade you are looking for, eg 1860 or 1880.
From here, you can choose from images and newspapers.
For example, the image Parihaka Pa, Taranaki is a primary source as it was taken in 1881, around the time of the invasion.

Papers Past

Papers Past is a collection of early New Zealand newspapers that have been digitised. You can search for and read articles as they appeared in the newspaper at the time.

Choose newspapers.
Enter 'Parihaka' in the search bar.
Add other keywords words like 'invasion' or 'peaceful'.
Go to Title and untick the Select all box.
Then select the Taranaki newspapers.
Next, choose Search, and look through the results.
You can sort the results by date using filters along the top of the page.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have .govt meaning they are from government organisations. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.