Lachy Paterson “Ārihi Te Nahu & the Te Waka Maori Libel Case, 1877.”
Te Tumu Seminar Series, University of Otago, 20 August 2014.
Short Abstract: In 1876 a letter from Ārihi Te Nahu and several others was published in Te Waka Maori o Niu Tirani, the government’s Māori-language newspaper concerning the wealthy Hawkes Bay runholder, Henry Russell. Russell sued the newspaper for libel, but the case was informed by dodgy Māori land purchases, race relations, and squabbling within the Pākehā political elite. This presentation explores how the libel case came about, and its ramifications.