In episode one, we first meet the prominent Māori chief Te Whakatōhea Chief Mokomoko who dedicates his life to protecting the land and people of Bay of Plenty's Te Whakatōhea Iwi.
In episode two, we learn about Carl Völkner, the German-born missionary Mokomoko was wrongfully accused of murdering. He took charge of the CMS mission station at Opotiki in 1861.
In episode three, Colonel George Grey's militia bombard Ōpōtiki, Chief Mokomoko surrenders and is then wrongfully executed for the crime. News of the killing spread to crown officials and Governor Grey published a proclamation declaring that the murderers of Volkner were in rebellion against her majesty.
In episode four, we look at the aftermath of his wrongful execution in 1866. Whakatohea land was confiscated through the Settlements act of 1863. Remaining maori were left with the difficult inland hills, gorges and valleys and a minimal amount of usable land.
In episode five, Chief Mokomoko's descendants fight to have his name cleared and his mana restored. On 14 May 1991, Tuiringa Mokomoko lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of himself and the members of the whānau concerning the Mokomoko conviction.
Separated by oceans yet united by ancestry, Scotland and Aotearoa share deep roots—where clans and iwi honour land, lineage, and identity across generations and cultures.
Driven from Scotland by war and loss, Hector MacDonald leaves behind a shattered land and sails for Aotearoa, seeking refuge, identity, and a place to call home.
In a land of ancient ties and new tensions, Hector enters the Māori world through trade and whaling—navigating kinship, conflict, and the shifting power of musket-era Aotearoa.
As land tensions rise post-Treaty, Hector and Agnes face the fallout of the Māori Land Court. They are caught between shifting laws, colonial ambition, and a community on the brink.
As the Native Land Court reshapes Aotearoa, Hector’s world unravels. Bound by whakapapa, he fights to protect his son’s future—while Māori sovereignty slips through Crown hands.