Treaty of Waitangi guaranteeing Maori 'full exclusive undisturbed possession of their lands' would pose an extraordinarily difficult problem.30

Furthermore, the Collingwood (Nelson) rush in 1857 had already demonstrated, before the opening of the Thames field, that the possibilities for friction were all the greater when Maori were in the vicinity of the field in any numbers.

A Reckoning: Were These Influences Likely to Conduce to an Equally Beneficial Partnership?

Pakeha who advocated the opening up of Hauraki goldfields argued that this would be the prelude to an economic relationship that would serve the interests of both races. Maori would make money, as producers of supplies, or as landlords earning an income from miners' rights or leases. Pakeha would have a needed source of employment. H.H. Turton, Resident Magistrate at Coromandel, caught the essence of this attitude in 1862 with the first discovery of leaders of 'moderate worth' on the field.

All seems to indicate a great future for this country for I cannot look upon the good to be derived from this Gold Field except as a Colonial Blessing and that is why I am so anxious to preserve peace amongst all & to dispense equal justice to the numbers of both races. Any deviation from the latter course would cause the Miners very speedily to hate the Maories & then the Natives' fate would be sealed whereas by the gentle but constant enforcement of mutual duty the Good fellowship of both may be preserved and increased.31

Turton quite obviously saw the goldfields as providing for Maori a path towards speedy assimilation.

In practice, however, things worked out otherwise. Some weeks later Turton recorded Maori annoyance at miners 'rushing' reserved land as trespassers.32 Later, he spoke of Maori obstructiveness: 'They [resident Maori] have become so exceedingly grasping and expectant and make such extraordinary demands that I find it quite impossible to give them any satisfaction without injustice to others.'33

This pattern, set in Coromandel, was repeated in the Thames in the later 1860s, and in Ohinemuri in the 1870s. Usually the pressure for the opening up of a field came from settlers or their government (although some individual Maori—as often as not selfinterested—would be in favour in face of the general reluctance if not outright opposition of the majority of the tribe). From the Maori viewpoint, the relationship, far from being beneficial, could be, even in the short term, deeply disruptive.

30 Robyn Anderson, 'The Crown, the Treaty, and the Hauraki Tribes, 1800-1885', Hauraki Maori Trust Board, 1997.

31 H.H. Turton to Secretary of Crown Lands, 18 Oct. 1862, BACL208/688.

32 Ibid., 18 Dec. 1862.

33 Turton to A.B. Domett, 11 Feb. 1863, BACL208/688.

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