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1 Allan Titford is in Rimutaka prison, serving a 24 year sentence for rape & arson. But the disgraced white nationalist nevertheless casts a shadow over Ihumatao, where protesters are trying to prevent the development of sacred land. (thread) 
2 In the late '80s Titford acquired a large farm on the Northland coast. Te Roroa wanted the land, which was covered in urupa & pa, returned as part of a Treaty settlement it was preparing to negotiate. Titford enraged the iwi by bulldozing earthworks, graves.
3 By the early '90s Titford was regularly confronting Te Roroa protesters, like the artist-activist Manos Nathan. His claims of persecution by the iwi won him sympathy from many conservative Pakeha. In 1992 Titford's house burnt down. He blamed Maori terrorists.
4 After the destruction of his home, Titford became a hero to many conservative Pakeha. He travelled the nation, denouncing Treaty settlements & arguing that whites, not Maori, were the indigenous people of NZ. The Bolger government took Titford seriously.
5 After agitation from Titford & his supporters, Jim Bolger's National government passed a law preventing the return of privately owned land to iwi as part of Treaty settlements. The Waitangi Tribunal was barred from recommending the return of private land as part of settlements
6 But Allan Titford was no heroic victim of Te Roroa terrorists. In 2013 he was convicted of arson. Titford's ex-wife testified that he had torched his own home. Titford was also convicted of multiple counts of rape. Don Brash & other supporters distanced themselves.
7 In an article written after Titford's conviction, Willie Jackson pointed out how much more difficult Bolger's law had made Treaty settlements. Today, some detractors of the Ihumatao protesters point out the land they claim is owned privately, by Fletchers.
8 If it were not for Allan Titford's arson in 1992, & the Bolger government's indulgence of his paranoia, then the crisis at Ihumatao may never have arisen. The private land that protesters are fighting for could have been part of a Treaty deal. Titford has cast a long shadow.
