John Miller

For more than fifty years, photographer John Miller has documented protests and important cultural events across Aotearoa New Zealand. His photographs of protests about issues affecting Māori are iconic, including two hīkoi, thirty years apart, that saw thousands march to Parliament.

In April 2004, a hīkoi left Te Tai Tokerau Northland in protest against proposed legislation to transfer ownership of the Aotearoa foreshore and seabed to the Crown. The hīkoi was joined by numerous supporters on the way south and arrived in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington on 5 May 2004. Among them was Cyril Chapman (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi), renowned activist, broadcaster and advocate for te reo Maōri. In 1975, at the age of nineteen, Chapman carried the pouwhenua and flag of Te Rōpū Matakite at the front of the historic Māori land march led by Dame Whina Cooper, a moment also captured on film by Miller. Here, Chapman holds the photograph of his younger self, his weary expression an acknowledgement that, thirty years later, not much has changed. Using the camera as a witness, Miller reveals iconic cultural shifts, walking us backwards through history to our current moment.

hīkoi ~ march

te reo Māori ~ the Māori language

pouwhenua ~ carved wooden post that marks a boundary or place of significance

Te Rōpū Matakite ~ the name given to the group of people involved with the 1975 hīkoi, meaning ‘those with foresight’