Before the arrival of Europeans, the Waikato contained the third most densely populated part of New Zealand, after Northland/Auckland and the Bay of Plenty. The Waikato
rohe (area) was inhabited by
iwi (tribes) such as those of the
Tainui confederation, including
Waikato and
Ngāti Toa. Between about 1750 and 1842 the area was subject to a large number of invasions by other Māori iwi and hapu confederations and large scale population migrations took place by a number of
hapū and
iwi. The largest battle ever fought in New Zealand took place near Ōhaupō about 1790–1805, between two competing alliances of
hapū. During the latter stages of this volatile period, known as the
Musket Wars (1807–1845), conflict led to a migration south to
Taranaki and eventually Kapiti Island. In 1840 44 Waikato chiefs travelled north to the Manukau Heads and Manukau Harbour to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, officially making the Waikato area part of New Zealand. Three Ngāti Maniapoto chiefs signed, as did three Ngāti Haua chiefs but most signatories were Waikato. Chief Te Whero whero did not sign, "probably due to the lack of dignity compared to the Waitangi event". Unusually, the copy signed was in English. Between 1840 and 1860 the CMS missionaries of the Anglican church assisted Waikato Māori in revolutionising their economy in the Kihikihi area by the introduction of such crops as peaches, maize and wheat. Missionaries brought in millers and helped Māori establish eight flour mills. These flourished until 1857, as they provided flour for the growing Auckland market in the 1850s and for a brief while were exporting to Australia. There were mills at
Aotea,
Kaitotehe, Karakariki,
Kihikihi,
Kirikiriroa, Kohanga, Kopatauaki,
Mahoe, Mangaharakeke, Mangapapa, Mangarewarewa,
Mangatāwhiri,
Matamata pā,
Maungakawa,
Maungatautari, Mohoaonui, Otawhao, Patetere, Rangataiki, Taupō, Te Kopua,
Te Rore, Tireke,
Tuakau,
Waitetuna,
Whāingaroa The route used to travel to and from Auckland was by dray to the
Puniu stream, along the
Waipā River to its junction with the Waikato. Near the Waikato Heads travellers entered the small
Awaroa River. During summer it was necessary to push or pull the waka through to the Manukau Harbour at Waiuku. By the 1850s a small bullock track had been established to Auckland via the settlements of Mauku, Drury, Papakura and Ōtāhuhu, or
waka could take the sea route across the Manukau to
Ihumātao (where Auckland International Airport is now). The main tribe to use this route and the main traders were the Maniapoto tribe. They occupied an area of fertile land south of Te Awamutu at Kihikihi and Rangiaowhia. Maniapoto sold wheat, peaches, potatoes and other food to Auckland and bought back shirts, sugar, tobacco and rum. The boom time ended in 1856–1857 with the end of the Australian gold rush, allowing importing of cheaper food, especially flour, from Australia. Even in the boom time of 1854–55, food grown by Waikato Māori, such as Ngāti Maniapoto, was taken to the Auckland market in very small amounts compared to food from the Waiheke Island -Thames area. In early 1855 Ngāti Maniapoto took only 3 canoes of potatoes to Auckland compared to 279 canoes containing a much wider variety of food from the Thames area. Missionaries had also established schools for Māori. Benjamin and Harriet Ashwell ran a school for 50 Māori girls aged 6–17 at Taupiri in 1853. The girls had been at the school for up to 3 years and could read and write in English and do mental arithmetic. At the time of the
Waikato campaign of 1863 against the rebel
Māori King Movement forces, the population was estimated by the government at about 3,500 Māori. During the late 1850s Maniapoto in particular become disgruntled in their dealings with Pākehā. They complained about the way they were treated in Auckland by traders but their chief complaint was that the government was underpaying them for land they were selling. The average price paid by government was 6d per acre but it was sold to settlers for 10/- per acre. The government argued that it had to pay for surveying and administration costs but to Māori it seemed unfair. Before the elevation of the first Māori king there was a wide range of opinions among influential Māori with some such as Wirimu Tamihana's father advocating supporting the Crown while Te Heuheu of Tūwharetoa advocated all out war against the government. This view was initially unpopular as the king movement hoped to work alongside the crown. Māori were upset at the number of children that had been fathered by Pākehā, who had then disappeared. The children were left to be raised by their mothers with general hapū support. John Gorst, a well-educated government agent, reported significant numbers of half-caste children in the Waikato in the late 1850s. However, in the Ngāti Maniapoto iwi at least 7 Pākehā integrated successfully with the tribe from 1842, marrying Māori women. The best known are William Searancke, who became an important government agent, and Frenchman Louis Hetet, who became a successful trader. Their half-caste children lived with the iwi, and some became leading figures. What tipped the balance was conflict and criminal activity within the Waikato region. Influential chiefs said the treaty had promised the government would help maintain peace. They asked for government magistrates and courts. The government attempted to fulfil these requests but many of the young men who put themselves forward for the positions simply saw that they had an opportunity to get wealthy at the government's expense. This upset the older chiefs, who wanted the strong Māori leader Te Wherowhero to return from Māngere to his lands at Tamahere (South Hamilton) to rein in the out-of-control young chief magistrates. The Waikato has a prominent history, particularly regarding relationships between Māori and European in early colonial New Zealand. The Waikato was within the defined boundaries of the colonial provinces of
New Ulster (1841–1853) and
Auckland (1853–1876) but was principally Māori. During the
land wars of the 1860s, the Waikato was the scene of five battles in what is referred to as the
Invasion of the Waikato. In retaliation for the help Waikato Māori (mainly
Ngāti Maniapoto) gave Taranaki Māori in their conflict over land in the earlier
First Taranaki War, and the decision by some Waikato
hapū to form a separate kingdom – the King Movement or
Kīngitanga – in opposition to the government, the colonial government, with the help of troops brought from Britain and Queenite Māori loyal to the Crown, pushed south from the main settlement of
Auckland, fighting against Waikato raiders in Auckland before venturing into the Waikato to attack the combined
hapū of the King Movement. During 1863 and 1864 fighting occurred at Pukekohe East, Tītī hill, Burtts Farm, Galloway Redoubt, Kiri Kiri, Martyn's Farm,
Patumāhoe, Rhodes Clearing, Williamson's Clearing, Otau, Camerontown, Kakaramea and Wairoa ranges (all Auckland),
Meremere, Rangiriri, Ngāruawāhia, Rangiaowhia (southwest of Cambridge), Hairini Ridge and Ōrākau (near Kihikihi), all resulting in defeat for the
Kīngitanga forces. Eventually the rebel King Movement forces pulled back to positions in the area to the south of the Punui River in South Waikato, still known as the
King Country, after 19 defeats by the British. ''
Rewi's Last Stand'', one of New Zealand's first motion pictures, in 1925, portrayed an entertaining, fictionalized version of the Ōrākau siege. The headquarters of the Māori King Movement are now at
Tūrangawaewae Marae at
Ngāruawāhia. After the end of the war and the withdrawal of British and Australian troops, the region experienced a long period of economic recession after 1866. Most Māori had moved to the King Country and European settlers were more attracted to the South Island with its large gold discovery in Otago and the more easily farmed Canterbury Plains. The Waikato had poor land access and was not suitable for sheep farming which dominated livestock production in New Zealand until the 1890s invention of refrigeration. Dairying and the completion of the main trunk railway line at the turn of the century lead to a small, steady increase in population. After 1900, dairy production in the Waikato continued to grow, exporting butter and cheese mainly to Britain.
Local government history Following major floods in 1907, a
Waikato River Board was formed in 1911. However, it was reported as ineffective in 1921 and ceased to operate, though the need for a replacement was considered in 1933.
Hauraki Catchment Board was set up in 1946. The
Ministry of Works and Development Abolition Act 1988, left WVA with that work and it became the
Waikato Catchment Board. The
Waikato United Council, was formulated under the
Local Government Act 1974, but due to objections excluded Thames/Coromandel district, though otherwise covered the present extent of the region. It was set up under the Town and Country Planning Act 1977 On 1 November 1989,
Waikato Regional Council was established from 40 former authorities: 12
noxious plants authorities, 11 pest destruction boards and 12 drainage boards. From 1 November 2010 Environment Waikato took over the southern parts of Franklin District. == Politics ==