In Ruatoki this week a hui was held at a marae with a plaque out front which perhaps sums up 150 years of Tuhoe relations with white authority.

There's nothing bad written on the plaque. In fact, it's the opposite, and that may be a surprise given the level of anger in this tight-knit community.

The plaque commemorates one of the last great paramount chiefs, Takarua Tamarau, who died in 1958 aged 86. It reads: "Tamarau was a protector and guide to his Maori people and a loyal supporter of the British flag."