The Bastion Point protest began in January and was to last for 506 days before the protesters were evicted.
The immediate goal of the Ngati Whatua people was to prevent subdivision of the land but the deep issue was their long-running fight for recognition as its true owners.
They had been fighting to have their rights recognised since the 1880s, with numerous appeals to the courts and 15 petitions to Parliament which came to nothing.
But this time, under the leadership of kaumatua Joe Hawke, it was to be different. Although the protesters were evicted, they took their case to the Waitangi Tribunal and the Government accepted the tribunal recommendations to return Okahu Park and Bastion Point to the tribal ownership of Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
At the time, the Herald was dubious about the settlement and especially Joe Hawke's prediction that many more would follow.
