Land March

Ko te Hīkoi ki Pāremata i te tau 1975 te kaupapa kei muri i te pene tākare me te horoi waituhi ā-pepa a Cliff Whiting; he maumaharatanga i ngā wā whakahirahira i te hītori o te motu. Ii te hīkoi o te tau 1975 ka arahina e Kahurangi Whina Cooper (Te Rārawa) tētahi rōpū iti, Māori mā, Tauiwi mā i tapaina ai ko Te Rōpū Matakite; nō Te Hāpua taua rōpū, ka mutu he hīkoi 1,100-kiromita te tawhiti ki Pāremata i Poneke – i te taenga atu ki reira he 50,000 te tokomaha o te rōpū. Nā taua hīkoi i tīmata ai tētahi wā hou ki te porotēhi, ki te whakahou i a Aotearoa, arā ko tētahi hua ko te Ture Tiriti o Waitangi 1975 me te whakatūnga o te Taraipiunara o Waitangi i taua tau anō. Ka hangaia e Whiting tēnei toi whakaharahara e Whiting i te tau o te hīkoi; kei te rangona te mana nui o taua wā, arā, he haki e kapakapa ana, he kaitautoko e whakamine ana, kua whakakotahitia ā-kaupapa, ā-kitenga.

Inspired by the Land March on Parliament in 1975, Cliff Whiting’s expressive and exuberant pen and ink wash on paper commemorates a significant moment in the country’s history. The 1975 hīkoi (land march) saw Whina Cooper lead a small, peaceful group of Māori and non-Māori protestors, named Te Rōpū Matakite, from Te Hāpua on a 1,100-kilometre trek to Parliament grounds in Wellington, where they then numbered 50,000. The hīkoi ushered in a new period of protest and reform in Aotearoa New Zealand, with one outcome being the enactment of the Waitangi Tribunal Act 1975, which allowed for the formation of the Waitangi Tribunal the same year. Whiting’s memorable illustration was created the year of the march and captures a sense of the occasion, with flags flying and all manner of supporters gathered, united in message and vision.

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