In 1769 the Hauraki region was rich in resources – resources valuable to both inhabitant Maori and Europeans of the future. Timber and gold were easily accessible; a long coastline stretched from Waihi and Thames in the south past Auckland in the north; food was caught, grown and traded.

Hauraki Contested tells the story of a vigorous Maori economy, interacting with settlers and the government at the then capital of Auckland. It traces also Maori resistance to colonisation, wars and debt, and the eventual loss and confiscation of vast acres of Maori land. By 1875 the riches of Hauraki were mostly in the hands of the newcomers: European settlers and their government.

The book’s earlier title – This Is My Place: Hauraki Contested, 1769–1875 – aptly draws on the words of the resistance leader Te Hira Te Tuiri: ‘This is my place, why do you seek after it?’ His story is only one of many from both sides of the Hauraki ‘frontier’.Leaders from different iwi, Pakeha traders, government officials: all are drawn as vividly as history will allow, as their actions impact on the Maori-Pakeha world of 1769–1875.

Hauraki Contested, 1769–1875 weaves a detailed and subtle history from fragmentary evidence – government documents, shipping records, missionary journals and settler accounts. It is a story that yields no simple answers but takes the reader directly to the landscape and the people who lived in it through tumultuous change. That this was, for Maori, a period of loss and devastation is painfully demonstrated, in this careful account.

The author writes: ‘Hauraki Contested does not have the adversarial purpose of presenting a case either or against the Crown. It simply seeks to tell what happened between Europeans and Maori in Hauraki ... and to explain why it happened that way. My own involvement in Treaty claims history, however, has made me fully aware of the many issues over which Maori can justifiably seek redress and which must feature in any New Zealand colonial history written at this time.’ The new edition was generously sponsored into secondary school libraries by the Deane Endowment Trust. The intriguing family connections behind this donation can be found in the press release in the media and comment section.

Endorsements                                              

Joint winner of J.M. Sherrard Major Award in New Zealand Regional and Local History 2004

'Monin pays tribute to the great amount of evidence now available in English thanks to the Hauraki tribes’ Waitangi Tribunal Claim … well-written and engaging … concise and analytical … intelligent and thoughtful …' J.M. Sherrard Award Judges Report 2004

'The book is a work of scholarship … an interesting, thought-provoking and enjoyable read.' Waikato Times

'An excellent book and long overdue … Auckland is the richer for it.' The National Business Review

'The authoritative history.' Sunday Star Times

‘This is a regional history of a very sophisticated kind. One of the earliest regions of Maori-Pakeha interaction, Hauraki is also one of the most important because of its large Maori population, its extensive resources and its relationship with Auckland. Residents of Auckladn and Hauraki today will find this a rich account of their land and its history at a point of transformation. [This is] one of the most complete demonstrations of how the control of a region’s resources and of their own destinies slipped away from the Maori occupants...’ Emeritus Professor Alan Ward

Contents                                                       

List of maps and illustrations
Preface
Introduction
1. Tribal histories and first contacts
2. Tribal conflict and European influence, 1800–1830
3. Reactivating rights and receiving newcomers, 1830s
4. The Treaty, Hauraki and infant Auckland, 1840s
5. The turning of the tide, 1850s
6. Gold and way, 1860–1865
7. Gold and the overwhelming of Hauraki,1865–1975
8. Aftermath
List of abbreviations
References
Bibliography and sources
Index