Auckland Council is working with the Government to issue a formal apology to whānau who were impacted by the race-based separatism that existed in Pukekohe, on Auckland's southern edge.
The apology goes in some way to address the injustices Māori whanau suffered between the 1920s and early 1960s.
"It is incredibly important. We can't do nothing, we absolutely can't do nothing. The Franklin Local Board have reached out to Central Government and the Minister of Māori Crown Relations as well. A letter has come from Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown," said Franklin Local Board member Logan Soole.
Between the 1920s and early 1960s, Māori living in Pukekohe were subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment.
"We want an apology for the suffering, the racial discrimination and the hell we went through," said Phyllis Bhana, who was born in Pukekohe and witnessed the poor treatment first-hand.
A visit to Pukekohe Public Cemetery and the racial segregation that existed between Māori and Pākēha is very clear to see. While there are a few Māori whānau buried on the majority Pākēha section, the vast majority are crammed in a narrow strip of land they once called 'The Native Section'. They lay in mostly unmarked graves and it's not clearly evident that there is someone buried there.
Bhana's whānau are amongst the more than 200 Māori pēpī and children under 14 years old who died from preventable illnesses between 1925 and 1962 and were laid to rest at the cemetery.
"The majority was through influenza, that's how my nephews died, probably because of the housing they had back then," Bhana said.
Whānau from all around the country came to Pukekohe to work as labourers on agricultural land and lived in abject squalor.
The unhygienic, cramped, sub-standard conditions were directly linked to the poor health they suffered.
Bhana obtained the official Council records which clearly mark who is buried in each plot, a roll call of names that document a shameful era in New Zealand's history.
While whānau couldn't have afforded headstones, money was paid for the burials.
"They had to pay £1, five shillings to buy a plot to bury them in. But they dug their own holes and they buried their own loved ones. They gave money away for nothing," Bhana said.
Bhana wants to see a monument for the deceased and their names for their names to be displayed.
"By having the names written down for people to see, that's their voice, they speaking up".
The lack of acknowledgement for those who have passed is just part of Bhana's mamae.
She went to Pukekohe Māori School, the only place in the country where tamariki were educated separately, and kept away from pākehā classrooms.
It opened in 1952, next door to the onion fields where their parents worked.
Today the kura is barely recognisable, but Bhana has vivid recollections of the physical and sexual abuse she was subjected to here.
"It was a place where they said they were educating us. But why educate us and abuse us at the same time? We got caned, we got strapped."
Pastor Charlie Tuhua from Ngā Hau E Whā's Marae Committee applauds kaumātua like Bhana for speaking out about all that they have suffered.
"We acknowledge and we are so proud and love our kaumātua and kuia that have stood up and spoken out against the atrocities of the past," he said.
Ngā Hau E Whā is in negotiations with the council and Government agencies to see how things can be put right.
"An apology is a minimum but also what could a possible future outcome look like in terms of reconciliation and healing?" Charlie Tuhua said.
They want to see a wharekura built on the empty site next to the marae. It is what they see as a small step towards healing the intergenerational harm that was caused by the segregation.
"It will give a tangible outcome to those that have fought this battle who had to endure over time, but also for their generations - their grandchildren, their tamariki and mokopuna and will be an opportunity for their future," he added.
Made with support from New Zealand On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.
