May 25, 1978

This brings huge emotion Alec…. I remember standing up there watching this long line of army trucks and stuff winding up the hill and helicopters overhead and thinking that it felt as though this was South Africa or somewhere. It was so surreal.

I remember feeling bitter about the high numbers of Maori in the police who came to arrest us – it seemed as though they had deliberately rounded up all the Maori police in the country and sent them there.

I remember my husband of the time fleeing to stand outside the gates as soon as we were told to vacate the premises, and holding my ground…I think that was the beginning of the end of that

I remember the whare, that whare mahana, being dismantled by scab labour and how painful that was for me to watch and thinking how very much more painful for all those who had kept those fires burning for so long

I remember standing there arms linked together singing as Auntie exhorted us to hold to peace and not to fight

I remember the police captain refusing to allow a prayer….

I remember a really young policeman pleading with me – “please miss, please come quietly” as he manhandled me out through the gate as gently as he could – I was very visibly hapu at the time. And I remember struggling not to be dragged and being bitterly disappointed that he didn’t arrest me which was what I wanted that day to show my support and my anger that this could happen.

And I remember tears running down my face every single time I showed the movie of that day to my university students…

30 years, Alec. 30 years.

Kei te mokemoke au, kei te tangi….

Nga mihi whanui, nga mihi aroha kia koe, kia kotuou te whanau, kia koutou katoa o nga whanau o Ngati Whatua.

Ake ake ake


Makere Stewart-Harawira