Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
well suited to the introduction of new fruits and vegetables. By the 1840s the Waikato
economy was booming, with bulk quantities of produce exported to the settlers in Auck-
land and beyond.
ESSENTIAL WAIKATO & COROMANDEL PENINSULA
Eat
Coromandel bivalves - mussels, oysters and scallops are local specialities
Drink
Local craft beer from Hamilton's Good George (
Click here
)
Read
The Penguin History of New Zealand(2003) by the late Michael King, an
Opoutere resident
Listen to
The Waikato-influenced sounds of Kimbra, the Topp Twins and the Dat-
suns
Watch
The birds at Miranda the Firth of Thames
Festival
The Coromandel Peninsula-wide
Pohutukawa Festival
Go green
Off-the-grid tepees at Solscape (
Click here
)
Area code
07
Relations between the two cultures soured during the 1850s, largely due to the colon-
ists' pressure to purchase Maori land. In response, a confederation of tribes united to
elect a king to safeguard their interests, forming what became known as the Kingitanga
(King Movement).
In July 1863 Governor Grey sent a huge force to invade the Waikato and exert colonial
control. After almost a year of fighting, known as the Waikato War, the Kingites retreated
south to what became branded the King Country.
The war resulted in the confiscation of 3600 sq km of land, much of which was given
to colonial soldiers to farm and defend. In 1995 the Waikato tribes received a full Crown
apology for the wrongful invasion and confiscation of their lands, as well as a $170 milli-
on package, including the return of land that the Crown still held.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Rangiriri
