Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington
Encyclopedia
Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington was a New Zealand
court case of 1877 which ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi
was a "simple nullity" having been signed by "primitive barbarians".
In 1877 Wiremu "Wi" Parata
a wealthy Māori farmer and member Executive Council
, described by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
as having been "an astute politician and skilled orator and debater" took Octavius Hadfield
, the Bishop of Wellington
, to the Supreme Court
, over a breach of oral contract between the Anglican Church and the Ngāti Toa
, and a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
.
The Ngāti Toa had provided land to the church in 1848 in exchange for a promise that a school for young Ngāti Toa people would be built by the church. However no school was built, and in 1850 the church obtained a Crown grant to the land, without the consent of the iwi
. The case was a failure for Parata - Chief Justice
James Prendergast
ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simply nullity", having been signed by "primitive barbarians".
The ruling had far-reaching consequences, as it was invoked as precedent during subsequent claims brought for breaches of the Treaty, well into the twentieth century.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
court case of 1877 which ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
was a "simple nullity" having been signed by "primitive barbarians".
In 1877 Wiremu "Wi" Parata
Wiremu Parata
Wiremu Te Kakakura Parata, also known as Wi Parata , was a New Zealand politician....
a wealthy Māori farmer and member Executive Council
Executive Council of New Zealand
The Executive Council of New Zealand is the body which legally serves the functions of the Cabinet. It has a function similar to that served by the Privy Council in the United Kingdom...
, described by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online....
as having been "an astute politician and skilled orator and debater" took Octavius Hadfield
Octavius Hadfield
Octavius Hadfield was Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893. A missionary for thirty years, he was recognised as an authority on Maori customs and language...
, the Bishop of Wellington
Diocese of Wellington
The Diocese of Wellington is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area between the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to the area of Mount Ruapehu....
, to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of New Zealand
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort in New Zealand, having formally come into existence on 1 January 2004. The court sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London...
, over a breach of oral contract between the Anglican Church and the Ngāti Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
, and a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
.
The Ngāti Toa had provided land to the church in 1848 in exchange for a promise that a school for young Ngāti Toa people would be built by the church. However no school was built, and in 1850 the church obtained a Crown grant to the land, without the consent of the iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
. The case was a failure for Parata - Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
James Prendergast
James Prendergast (judge)
Sir James Prendergast GCMG was the third Chief Justice of New Zealand. Prendergast was the first Chief Justice to be appointed on the advice of a responsible New Zealand government, but is chiefly noted for his far-reaching decision in Wi Parata v The Bishop of Wellington in which he described the...
ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simply nullity", having been signed by "primitive barbarians".
The ruling had far-reaching consequences, as it was invoked as precedent during subsequent claims brought for breaches of the Treaty, well into the twentieth century.
Further reading
- "The three precedents of Wi Parata", 2004, Canterbury Law Review
- JAMES PRENDERGAST AND THE TREATY OF WAITANGI: JUDICIAL ATTITUDES TO THE TREATY DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, 2004, Victoria University of Wellington Law Review
- Untangling the Foreshore