Hone Heke cuts down the flagpole (1844-45)

WHO IS HONE HEKE?

WHO?

Hone Heke is a significant and powerful Maori chief and is well known for cutting down the flagpole in 1844. Born in Pakaraka, Northland, Hone Heke grew up to be a very diligent person, which showed in his work and behaviour as a Ngapuhi Maori chief. He was known for his intelligence and how he looked after people and their interests, making him a very influential figure. When the Treaty of Waitangi was announced, Hone Heke was the first Maori chief to sign it and was in favour of the treaty and what it had to say. He believed that the treaty would help the Maori economy and that all Maori chiefs and their authorities would be safely protected by the British. However, this opinion quickly changed after the treaty was in place. Four years later, Hone Heke decided to cut the British flagpole.

WHY DID HONE HEKE CUT DOWN THE FLAG POLE?

WHY?

After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, many problems occurred and Hone Heke noticed them. Like many other Maori chiefs, Hone Heke thought that the British were not being fair to the Maori and that they weren’t following the rules of the treaty. Quickly, Maori lost lots of their land to Maori and traditional customs and acts were overtaken by the new society that the British brought to New Zealand. The British were not helping Maori economically either, as trade with European ships was decreasing rapidly. With British sovereignty in New Zealand, there was barely any representation of Maori and their culture anymore. The flagpole, which was located in Kororareka, now known as Russell, was controversial itself. This was because it only flew the British flag with no representation of Maori. Hone Heke specifically gifted this flagpole so it could fly the The Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, but after the signing of the treaty, it was replaced with the British flag. This shows how biased the British were being. With this flagpole in mind, Hone Heke would show his disappointment with the British government by cutting it down. His intention was not to harm anyone but to do an act that would symbolise how unfair the British were being. He believed that this would show that if the Pakeha couldn’t protect their flag, then they wouldn’t be able to protect the land that was brought from Maori as they had promised.

HOW DID THE FLAGPOLE BREACH THE TREATY?

TREATY

Article 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi clearly states that Maori will receive the same rights and benefits as the Pakeha. This was not followed and Maori were treated poorly as said before. If it were, Maori would not have had to worry about their economy and land and Hone Heke would not have had to cut down the flagpole. This event symbolises how displeased Hone Heke and the Maori people were with the unfair treatment and reflect how they thought about the British government. It only occurred because there was no equality and the British had disregarded the treaty. The flagpole, which flew the British flag rather than the United Tribes flag, is a very significant example of the unfair treatment of Maori, hence becoming a reason why Hone Heke wanted to cut it down. Hone Heke and the cutting of the flagpole is one of the many cases that show why the Treaty of Waitangi was not followed and that Maori had a disadvantage nonetheless.

WHEN DID HONE HEKE CUT THE FLAGPOLE?

WHEN?

Not only did Hone Heke cut down the flagpole, but he also did it four times. The first being on the 8th of July, 1844, when Hone Heke led a party to cut down the flagpole, located in Kororareka. He also wrote a letter to the British governor, Robert FitzRoy, writing to him to not send any soldiers to re-erect the flagpole. “The pole that was cut down belonged to me. I made it for the Native flag and it was never paid for by the Europeans.”

Governor FitzRoy ignored the letter and sent people to re-erect it anyways. This, however, did not stop Hone Heke and his men. On the 10th of January, Hone Heke went back to Kororareka to cut the flagpole for the second time. FitzRoy noticed this and sent more soldiers to Kororareka to re-erect it once more. He even made a bounty worth 100 pounds if someone would stop Hone Heke and capture him. The flagpole was standing for the third time, but Hone Heke cut it down again on the 18th of January. Finally, the British decided to prevent the flagpole from being cut down by adding iron plates around the base and building a blockhouse around it as well. Unfortunately, this was not in favour of them as Maori found a way to dig below the iron plates and cut the flagpole down for the fourth and last time on the 11th of March, 1845.

WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK ABOUT HONE HEKE CUTTING THE FLAGPOLE?

RESPONSE

Te Ruki Kawiti, a Maori chief of Ngati Hine, was one of the people who agreed with Hone Heke and the cutting of the flagpole. Kawiti was known for disagreeing with the Treaty of Waitangi but ended up signing it anyway. He did not like the idea of the British controlling their land and went against William Hobson and what he had to say. However, he reluctantly ended up signing the treaty but regretted it afterwards. Just like he expected, Maori land was decreasing and the Europeans were taking over. Kawiti was unhappy with the loss of Maori identity and was also disappointed with British sovereignty just like Hone Heke. Kawiti also saw the flagpole as a symbol that excluded the Maori and was with the idea of cutting it down. Hone Heke invited Kawiti to join his side and it was not a hard decision for him, as they both were displeased with the British. Together, they went with several others to cut the flagpole.

Someone who was definitely against Hone Heke and his actions was Robert Fitzroy. After the unsuccessful outcome of the falling of the flagpole in 1844, Fitzroy addressed this situation to Maori chiefs later in September. He stated, “I will now speak of the flagstaff, in itself worth nothing; a mere stick, but, as connected with the British flag of very great importance.” This shows that Fitzroy didn’t care for the Maori and their identity and only saw the flagpole as something significant to the British. The fact that the flagpole was gifted from Hone Heke to represent Maori conveys that the Maori were never treated fairly. Fitzroy ignored the cutting of the flagpole and what Hone Heke wanted, instead re-erecting the flag pole three times. The cutting of the flagpole was a symbolic act that needed the attention of the British, but Fitzroy chose not to acknowledge it.

WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THE CUTTING OF THE FLAGPOLE?

OUTCOME

Hone Heke's protest resulted in many conflicts, some being big like the Northern War. The Northern War, also known as the Flagstaff War or Heke’s War, started on the 11th of March, 1845. It lasted around ten months and was a very significant war that took place. This is because the Northern War was the first real challenge that the British received from the Maori. Ngapuhi and other northern tribes were part of this war against the British, with Hone Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti leading them. They attacked Kororareka with muskets and double-barrelled guns, where they managed to cut the flagpole for the fourth time. Many settlers and government troops then had to evacuate and many of the buildings burned due to explosives. The British left on ships where they had to surrender, losing almost £100,000 worth of land. After this, the British tried to gain revenge by raiding northern villages like Puketutu and Kapotai. However, they did not succeed and over forty British soldiers were either killed or wounded. In the end, around ninety Maori and eighty Pakeha were killed in the midst. Many battles took place and it was only after the battle of Ruapekapeka was the Northern War somewhat resolved. Hone Heke and Kawiti decided to talk with Waka Nene, one of the Maori chiefs who were against the cutting of the flagpole and was with the British, to come to peace terms. No one truly dominated the war, but the flagpole was no longer re-erected and none of Ngapuhi’s land was taken.

WHAT IMPACT DID THIS MAKE?

IMPACT

Unfortunately, Maori didn’t get the justice that they deserved after the Northern War. Instead, they were punished by the British Crown for ‘rebelling’ against them. They did this by confiscating a huge amount of Maori land and giving it to Pakeha settlers. This action goes under ‘The New Zealand Settlement Act’ that was passed in 1863. Around 1.3 million hectares worth of Maori land was confiscated, most of it being up in the area of Waikato and Taranaki. Land continued to get taken and by 1975, Maori only had 3 million acres from the 66 million acres that they had back in 1840. Maori were getting trampled by these ridiculous laws made by the British government and they felt truly displaced in a country that used to belong to them. It left them without homes and authority, and their population was overtaken by the overwhelming number of Pakeha coming to settle in New Zealand. Even with Hone Heke making a statement by cutting down the flagpole, it wasn’t enough for the British to change their mind. It doesn’t take anything away from the bold achievement that Hone Heke was able to make throughout his lifetime, as his actions still resonate with a lot of people to this day. Hone Heke fought for Maori rights and even though it didn’t work out in his favour, his desire and determination to have equality for Maori made him a very influential chief and person in our history. Without him cutting down the flagpole, there could have been a chance that Maori would not get their rights back and our society might have changed for the worse.