The Dog Tax war was a confrontation in 1898 between the Crown and a group of Northern Māori, led by
Hone Riiwi Toia, opposed to the enforcement of a 'dog tax'. It has been described by some authors as the last gasp of the 19th-century
wars
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
between the
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and
Pākehā settlers
Pākehā settlers were European emigrants who journeyed to New Zealand, and especially to the Auckland, Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Canterbury and Otago regions during the 19th century. The ethnic and occupational social composition of these New Zea ...
. It was, however, a bloodless "war", with only a few shots being fired.
Hone Heke Ngapua Honing is a kind of metalworking.
Hone may also refer to:
* Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname
* Hõne language, spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria
* Hône
Hône ( Valdôtain: (loca ...
, MHR for Northern Māori, was responsible for de-escalating the confrontation.
The tax
In the 1890s the
Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
County Council imposed a tax of
2/6d (
half crown) on each dog in the district. Many people, particularly in the South Hokianga, refused to pay—including
Hone Riiwi Toia. The gradual encroachment on
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
autonomy, including the introduction of colonial laws instigated an armed protest, the response to which became known as the Dog Tax War.
The role of religion
Hone Toia was the leader/prophet of a breakaway group of
Wesleyans
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
called Te Huihuinga or Te Huihui. Te Huihuinga was also a political movement and considered themselves as having seceded from '
Te Kotahitanga
The Kotahitanga movement was an autonomous Māori parliament convened annually in New Zealand from 1892 until 1902. Though not recognised by the New Zealand Government, the Māori Parliament was an influential body while it lasted. By 1902 its rol ...
' - the autonomous Māori parliament movement founded upon the 1835 "
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand ( mi, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni), signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of ...
" that pre-dated the
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
. Hone had also met with
Te Whiti-o-Rongomai the leader of the
Pai Marire Pai or PAI may refer to:
People
* Pai (surname), Indian surname from coastal Karnataka and Goa plus people with the name
* Pai (Chinese surname), includes Chinese name origin, plus people with the name
Fictional characters
* Pai (Manga charact ...
movement, Te Huihuinga adopted aspects of this movement which sought to retain their right to live as Māori without interference, and to make use of their traditional resources as guaranteed by the
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
.
Other grievances held by this group included seasonal restrictions on the hunting of native birds, the land tax (on land held under Crown grant within five miles of a public road), the wheel tax (on vehicles with certain tyre widths).
It was during a Te Huihui meeting that Hone Toia prophesied that "if dogs were to be taxed, men would be next".
Europeans on the other hand, regarded Hone Toia as an imposter, and others associated him with the
Hau Hau movement. This was a vehemently anti-Pākehā cult that had developed in the 1860s and spread throughout the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
, and had been heavily involved in the later major conflicts, such as the
Second Taranaki War
The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...
.
Enforcement
In June 1897, Henry Menzies was put in charge of dog registrations by the Hokianga County Council, for which he received only the commission of one shilling for each dog collar sold. In 1898 he served 40 summons at Pukemiro pa (Hone Toia's village in Hauturu), where Menzies was rumoured to have said, that if the people refused to pay they would be sent to an ice-bound country where their bones would crack from the cold, (probably referring to the prisons of the lower South Island).
This suitably terrified the people of Te Huihuinga, some choosing to sleep in the bush out of fear of being arrested. Hone Toia intervened successfully achieving an adjournment to the summons, he then set up a meeting at Pukemiro on 28 April, inviting Seon, Constable Alexander McGilp, Menzies and others.
Resistance begins
Returning to the Hokianga, on 28 April 1898, Seon, Constable Alexander McGilp, Menzies and others attended the meeting. There they found one hundred and fifty men led by Hone Toia. Romana te Paehangi an elder and relative of Hone stated that they would not pay any taxes and that 'they would die on account of these taxes'. Hone Toia confirmed that they would rather resist than be driven further into poverty and hardship.
At
Pukemiro
Glen Afton and Pukemiro are twin settlements in the Waikato District, in northern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest town is Huntly, some 14 km (15 minutes' drive) away.
The settlements were previously an important ...
they also announced their intention to come to
Rawene
Rawene is a town on the south side of the Hokianga harbour, in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 12 passes to the south. The town lies at the apex of a peninsula. A car ferry links it to Kohukohu and the northern Hokianga.
History
Rawene ...
(the administrative centre of the area) with their guns to continue their dispute with the County Council. They also gave assurances that no women or children or settlers would be hurt and that there would be no bloodshed unless they came in contact with the law. A telegraph was composed at the meeting and sent to
Clendon in Hone Toia's name, however the message received was understood to mean that war would be waged because of the dog tax and that blood would be shed.
In Rawene panic ensued, many people withdrew to neighbouring
Kohukohu or aboard the steamer 'Glenburg'.
A police inspector and five constables arrived by boat from
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and set up a cannon on the wharf. The party of less than 20 including Hone Toia and led by Romana Te Paehangi duly appeared, stripped for war, ready to present themselves to the law. The outnumbered police sensibly fled leaving their cannon behind. Rawene was deserted apart from a few neutral Māori and a handful of Pākehā including Rev. Gittos, and contractor Robert Cochrane.
Cochrane described the war party as quiet, expressing friendship to all but the law and as stating that they would not fire first. Gittos and Cochrane eventually persuaded them to return to Waima later that evening.
Descendants of the men involved described how Bob Cochrane ran the local hotel. Despite it being a Sunday and therefore illegal, he agreed to open the bar and served the visiting war party with beer. This gesture of goodwill went a long way to defusing the situation.
Some four days later the government had assembled a force of 120 men armed with rifles, two field guns and two rapid fire guns landed in Rawene. The force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Stuart Newall and was later reinforced by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
sloop
HMS ''Torch''.
On 5 May 1898, the government forces marched on
Waima
Waima is a suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. The majority of the modest population is clustered around the comparatively prominent Waima superette, situated just off the main arte ...
, Hone Toia sent a message requesting Newall wait at
Omanaia
Omanaia ( mi, Ōmanaia) is a settlement in the Hokianga area of Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the Hokianga South statistical area, which covers the southern side of Hokianga Harbour between Rawene and Koutu. For demograph ...
, Newall refused. An ambush was feared at the crest of the hill between Waima and Rawene, after two shots were fired over the heads of the colonial troops. However the soldiers were allowed to pass unmolested and carried on to set up camp at Waima School. Toia and his men being camped some distance away.
Surrender and imprisonment of Hone Toia
The potential was there for serious conflict. However the situation was defused by the timely arrival of the Member of the House of Representative (MHR) for Northern Māori,
Hone Heke Ngapua Honing is a kind of metalworking.
Hone may also refer to:
* Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname
* Hõne language, spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria
* Hône
Hône ( Valdôtain: (loca ...
. He was the grand-nephew of the famous
Hone Heke Honing is a kind of metalworking.
Hone may also refer to:
* Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname
* Hõne language
Hõne is a Jukunoid language spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria
...
. He met with Hone Toia and negotiated a truce and the surrender of Hone, his people and some of their guns.
Hone Toia was arrested on 6 May with four others,
11 more were arrested later.
Hone Heke Ngapua had previously sent a telegraph to Hone Toia, advising him to disband his people, withdraw peacefully and to petition parliament, this was seen as a wise move by Heke, considering such acts as the 1863
Suppression of Rebellion Act, which suspended
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
and introduced
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
into disturbed districts, and the
New Zealand Settlements Act, which provided for the punitive confiscation of 'rebel natives' land.
Charged with "Intending by conspiring to levy war against the Queen in order to force her to change her measures, and conspiring by force to prevent collection of taxes", Hone and four others were sentenced for a total of two and a half years of hard labour. Others were subsequently fined and heavy costs imposed, but these were later remitted.
Hone Toia near the end of his sentence in
Mount Eden prison
Mount Eden Prisons consists of two separate facilities in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Mount Eden — the Mount Eden Prison and the Mount Eden Corrections Facility.
History
The original Mount Eden prison was a military stockade built i ...
, prophesied the date of the Huihuinga prisoners release, as the predicted day wore on his powers appeared to have left him, but later that night at 9pm, it was announced and the prisoners released. Te Huihuinga were released short of their full sentence, on 15 March 1899, this was probably due to the petitions of numerous
Iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
(tribes) of the Hokianga and far north.
These events are still remembered to this day; the dog tax in the Hokianga remains, yet is still somewhat neglected, up to this very day.
References
Further reading
* Lee, Jack (1987). ''Hokianga''. Hodder and Stoughton.
Biography of Hone Toia, a leading figure of the war
External links
Photographs from the Dog Tax Warheld in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Tax resistance
Conflicts in 1898
New Zealand Wars
Far North District
History of the Northland Region