The Wellington Phoenix have marked the 142nd anniversary of the invasion of the pacifist settlement of Parihaka during the double-header against Brisbane Roar at Sky Stadium.
Phoenix women’s players have each carried Te Raukura, the plume of white feathers, on to the ground ahead of their Liberty A-League match against the Roar.
Te Raukura features prominently on the club’s playing kit and is the symbol of peaceful resistance at Parihaka. It also recognises the Taranaki origins of the mana whenua of Te Whanganui a Tara, Te Āti Awa.
In the 1870s, under the leadership of Tohu Kākahi and Te Whiti o Rongomai the settlement in Taranaki became a focal point for Māori for passive resistance and protest to land confiscation.
On November 5th, 1881, government troops invaded Parihaka to arrest its leaders and many of its men.
Homes and cultivations were burned, and hundreds were imprisoned without trial in the South Island for acts of civil disobedience.
