The land was occupied by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and before the
colonisation of New Zealand it was part of important lands for the
hapū, overlooking rich fishing and farming areas. The surrounding land was purchased and confiscated by the
New Zealand Government for
public works and development over a period stretching from the 1840s into the 1950s. Apihai Te Kawau spoke publicly against land sales and in order to safeguard a small amount of land in Ōrākei for future generations, and Te Kawau obtained a Crown Grant in 1869. In 1873, the
Native Land Court stated that "the land shall be inalienable". A reversal of this government position came with the Validation Of Invalid Land Sales Act 1894. In 1885, the New Zealand Government built a military outpost at Bastion Point, because of its commanding strategic position overlooking the Waitematā Harbour, known as Fort Bastion. The outpost was not built on Takaparawha Point, which had earlier been taken by the Government for the same purpose. In 1886,
the Crown used the Public Works Act 1882 (46 Vict No 37) to take ownership of of Bastion Point for this purpose of defence. From 1913 and 1928, the government bought most of the land that had been previously deemed inalienable. As
Ranganui Walker states, this is by no means a simple case of willful dispossession: "In a long running battle to resist the state and save the land, there were eight actions in the Maori Land Court, four in the Supreme Court, two in the Court of Appeal, two in the Compensation Court, six appearances before Commissions or Committees of Inquiry, and fifteen Parliamentary Petitions. In the end the state prevailed". In 1936, Ōrākei was proposed as a site for state housing by the
First Labour Government, and in August a Māori delegation asked Prime Minister
Savage that at least the marae on the flat foreshore where he had been ceremonially welcomed after his election should be retained by the tribe. Savage was 'somewhat fogged' by the situation and asked for reports, which were not completed when he sailed to Britain for the Coronation and Imperial Conference in 1937. The Labour state housing team
John A. Lee and
Frank Langstone decided that the 120 Māori living at Ōrākei were illegal squatters and had to be removed. The incensed Ōrākei Māori met Savage on his return from overseas, and he immediately reversed the decision, avoiding what could have been a political crisis. In November 1936, Lee had assured
Walter Nash that the Māori would be removed without much difficulty; but they refused, and were supported by the Clergy Association, the Protestant churches, the Anglican Bishop, the Friends of Orakei and the
New Zealand Observer. Robin Hyde wrote
No More Dancing at Orakei. Lee obtained most of his land, but Langstone's (and the Cabinet's) decision; seen as obtaining Māori land as a park 'for white children' was reversed. Another motive for their proposal was to weaken
Bill Endean's grip on
Parnell, the only non-Labour seat in Auckland. Māori from the pā met Savages' body when it arrived back in Auckland in 1940. In 1941, the Crown no longer needed Bastion Point for defence, it did not return the land to its traditional Māori owners but instead gifted it to the
Auckland City Council for a reserve. (This was the last of uncommitted land at Ōrākei that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei still hoped to get back.) == Savage Memorial ==