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Paul Moon: Historian Wades Into Auckland Treaty Claim Controversy

A new book on Auckland's Maori past threatens to ignite fresh debate as Ngati Whatua negotiate with the Crown their claim to parts of Auckland city.

'The Struggle for Tamaki Makaurau' details the 1741 Auckland invasion by Ngati Whatua ancestors who almost completely wiped out the existing Te Waiohua population, a branch of Tainui.

The book is likely to be controversial says its author, AUT University historian Professor Paul Moon.

"In 1840, Ngati Whatua chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi as the tribal representatives of Auckland," he says.

"The fact that Ngati Whatua had only been in the area for 99 years when they signed the Treaty has led other iwi to challenge the tribe's tangata whenua status."

The professor adds, however, that Ngati Whatua did dominate Auckland during that 99-year period and by 1840 were its exclusive occupants.
Read entire article at http://www.scoop.co.nz