Whangārei hikoi supports Ihumātao protesters during national day of action

A hikoi to support protestors at Ihumātao went to Parihaka in Whangārei yesterday as part of national day of action. Photos / Michael Cunningham

More than 150 people walked up and down Whangārei's Mt Parihaka yesterday on a hikoi to show support for protesters at Ihumātao.

The hikoi, organised by Amelia Herbert, was part of a national day of action to support the Ihumātao protesters, with hikoi held across the country.

Herbert said she was delighted with the turnout, despite starting to organise it only 48 hours previously.

She had been following the kaupapa of the protesters for several weeks and last week she and a group of supporters from Northland went to Ihumātao to spend a night on the frontline and support their efforts.

"We were really moved by the kaupapa there and the love and peace that was there. It was very moving, so I thought, let's organise something here in Whangārei," Herbert said.

"There are a lot of people from Whangārei that tautoko that kaupapa but being so far away makes that difficult. So when they called for a national day of action I started organising this event."

She said the Ihumātao situation was part of a wider issue involving Māori land rights across the country.

People from Whangārei took part in a hikoi up Parihaka yesterday to support those protesting at Ihumātao, Auckland, as part of national day of action.

"For us this is a lot bigger than what's happening at Ihumātao so this is a great opportunity to start something that brings people together and collectively raise awareness of these issues, the wider issues of Māori land and Māoridom as a whole.

"Māori culture is not celebrated enough and I feel this is a great opportunity to start standing up for ourselves and our rangatahi and rangatira and our rights and our culture. It's a beautiful culture."

Protest group Soul (Save Our Unique Landscape) has been occupying land at Ihumātao for several years, to prevent corporate giant Fletcher Building from constructing houses on the land that Soul says was stolen from Māori.The protest ramped up three weeks ago and while it has largely been peaceful, there have been several flash points between protesters and police, including in the early hours of yesterday when the numbers of police at the site swelled.

Te Kawerau a Maki is the iwi authority that struck a deal with Fletcher, securing houses in the planned development for whānau members.