MAORI LAND LOSS
Maori owned 80% of the land on the North Island in 1860. The Crown purchased 6 million acres of land. Moreover, ever since the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, the Crown has had the authority to purchase Maori territory.
Around 60% of the land in the North Island was owned by Maori in 1890. This time, land loss totalled more than 4 million acres. The 1860s wars provided Europeans with the chance of gaining Maori land. The Native Land Court then resulted in the transfer of 8 million acres to Europeans between 1865 and 1890.
Maori owned around 27% of the North Island’s land in 1910. Between 1890 and 1910, the rate of loss was slowed down. Yet, there were some significant land purchases in the North Island.
As they possessed just around 4% of the land in the North Island in 2000, Maori had lost a significant amount of land. The Crown and local governments took some property over the 20th century for public facilities like schools. Most likely, the confiscated land was not given back.
