May 25 is an important date for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei andAotearoa. In 1978 Police and army personnel removed 222 people from Bastion Point, now known as Takaparawhau, ending an occupation that lasted 506 days as protestors objected to the Muldoon government selling their seized land to high-end developers.
Its importance is now even greater following the death of protest leader Joe Hawke.
Northern leader Hone Harawira, a spritely young whippersnapper back in 1978, says while 44 years is a long time to recall past events, for those who were there that day, it was still very much fresh in their minds.
"We wanted to be of a single mind, to hold fast to the kaupapa, to not be violent, and eventually, the world would hear of our fight."
"Indigenous people came from all over the world because they had heard of iwi who were standing on their own whenua, in the biggest city in the Pacific."
For Veronica Leef, who was eight months pregnant, it was a time of excitement and angst.
"We all got told about Muldoon about to bring in the army and the police and so, for all of us that were hapū, for us not to be there the next day and so I was really upset. You know we did everything as Māori women."
'Kept on fighting and fighting and fighting'
For people like John Minto, who came to fame as an activist during the Springbok tour in 1981, Takaparawhau was a life-changing moment, both for him personally and also, he says, for the country.
"It was an incredible clash for New Zealand. A really, really important day, and even more important than that is the fact that people were arrested but then kept fighting and fighting and fighting and eventually winning."
Takaparawhau was and always will be closely aligned to Joe and the Hawke whānau.
Activist Annette Sykes and academic Ella Henry agree that Joe Hawke was no ordinary protestor.
"Joe Hawke wasn't like Annette or Hone Harawira, an agitator. He was a real statesman," Henry says.
She says Joe really connected with Māori all over the country and became an exemplar.
"What Joe and his whānau stood up for became a flashpoint for all Māori, to say we didn't have to put up with it one more day."