Kupapa

Kūpapa (also called Queenites, from Queen Victoria, and Loyal Māori) were Māori who remained loyal to the Government in the New Zealand Land Wars of the nineteenth century. About 70% of Maori remained loyal to the government/Queen Victoria. Of the remaining 30%, most were hapu located in Taranaki or in The Waikato. However even within the Waikato there were a number of hapu, especially in the lower Waikato and Pokeno areas who took an active part against the rebels. In 1861, at the Kohimaramara conference called by the governor which was attended by 200 chiefs, only a handful of chiefs advocated an anti government policy. The main reasons recorded for remaining loyalty to the government were their desire to keep the peace and especially the protection of law and order against the Maori tradition of inter hapu violence. A small number of kupapa chiefs appreciated the right to gain legal title to their lands. There was widespread appreciation of the benefits bought by the Treaty of Waitangi.