Support Maori Land March badge

This badge was worn in solidarity with the Māori Land March in 1975. The land march expressed deep unrest over ongoing loss of Māori land.

 

The protest march began in the far north town of Te Hāpua on 14 September 1975 with about 50 marchers. They were led by the 79-year-old kuia Whina Cooper (Te Rarawa) and the group Te Roopu Matakite o Aotearoa. They walked to Wellington, gathering petition signatures at marae on the way. Known as the 'Memorial of Right', the petition gained 60,000 signatures, and was presented to Prime Minister Bill Rowling on the steps of Parliament in Wellington a month later on 13 October 1975.

 

During the month-long hīkoi, estimates range from 30-40,000 Māori and Pākehā who supported the march (Aroha Harris, Hīkoi: Forty years of Māori protest, 2004, p. 74).

 

This particular badge belonged to activist Rona Bailey (1914-2005) who led a long life of activism including anti-apartheid protest from the late 1940s. For most of the 1970s, Bailey worked full-time and voluntarily for the anti-apartheid movement. She became part of the organising group of Project Waitangi (1985-90) which aimed to educate Pākehā about the Treaty of Waitangi.