Maori could develop power through Antarctica and the Treaty of Waitangi, writes Barrie Cook.

The placing of a pou whenua at Scott Base this year was a welcome affirmation of New Zealand sovereignty over its slice of Antarctica.

When Ngai Tahu leader Mark Solomon and Prime Minister John Key unveiled the carved totara pole at a ceremony in January, Mr Key called it a "very meaningful addition" to the base.

I don't know what he had in mind, but by definition the pou can be seen as a territorial marker.

Diplomacy requires us to go gently on promoting our claim, but for those of us not restrained by such niceties I say we should slowly up the ante, just as Australia is doing, and aim to have the Ross Dependency more fully incorporated into the nation state of New Zealand.

For the past hundred years or so Antarctica has been the playground of explorers, adventurers, scientists and tourists.

Overlaying the lot has been governmental jockeying for position, the most egregious of which has been the setting up of "scientific" bases as a way of establishing squatting rights as a precursor to getting more formal rights.

The dreamers would like it to be a grand world park, but human need and greed will not allow that to happen.

Already, New Zealand, like others, is exploiting the continent for commercial purposes. Tooth fish, tourism and even enzymes from volcanic vents, for a start.

And while the Antarctic Treaty bans military activity as such, there is a lot of military equipment and personnel around the place. It is all part of a jockeying for position.

A few years ago I put a proposal to Ngai Tahu for them to lead an expedition to Antarctica to coincide with Scott Base's 50th anniversary. I called it Te Pou Expedition. A centrepiece was to be the placing of a pou whenua. I wanted to encourage Maori interest to strengthen New Zealand's territorial rights. My proposal was politely rejected. Ngai Tahu had more pressing matters with which to be concerned.

Polynesians are the great navigators of the Pacific and when the climate was warmer than it is today may very well have ventured far enough south to have at least become aware of Antarctica.

Oral history refers to various journeys including one around 650 AD by Hui Te Rangiora who sailed south of New Zealand and discovered a "beautiful white land". Te Rangiora remains a celebrated name among Tainui.

Maori have the astronomically based myth of Tamarereti who travelled south in a waka and found white land. His canoe - Te Waka Tamarereti - is located in the tail of the Scorpio constellation.

Maori were familiar with the appearance of icebergs from time to time and, given their familiarity with glacier ice, were likely to have put two and two together.

And there is considerable Maori involvement in the modern era starting with Te Atu (John Sacs) who was part of an 1840 American expedition that surveyed 2600 kilometres of coastline.

There are now many Maori place names in our part of Antarctica including Mumu Nunatak, Parawera Cone, Tarakaka Peak and Pakuru Icefall.

Maori are involved in fishing in the Ross Sea, primarily through the 50 per cent Maori-owned Sealord Group.

Maori do not have ahi-ka (title through occupation) of the Ross Dependency and therefore do not have manawhenua (the power associated with possession), yet they could develop rights and power through a combination of more active involvement and the Treaty of Waitangi. After all, as English academic Klaus Dodd has noted: "Where New Zealand goes the Treaty of Waitangi goes."

The Treaty was a deal between the British and Maori with only the latter bringing land and its resources to the table. The British and their descendants set about dishonouring the Treaty whenever it suited, backed up by greater military might. This set in train a gross imbalance in favour of Pakeha still evident today.

The British gave the Ross Dependency to New Zealand in 1923. That hasn't worked out so far as an outright gift, although we are the recognised kaitiaki (guardians) of the dependency, and that will do until our sovereignty converts into recognised control in the same way that we control the mainlands, the exclusive economic zone and our continental shelf.

I like to think that the Crown side of the Treaty partnership can deliver something as tangible to the arrangement in the form of the Ross Dependency as Maori did when they delivered a share in their lands.

If not, maybe, just maybe, Maori will take it anyway. After all, Sir Mark Solomon did joke at the ceremony at Scott Base in January that Ngai Tahu were not about to lodge a claim to the Ice. He may have been joking, but sticking a pou whenua in the ground is a good way to start a claims process. Whatever happens, more direct and active Maori involvement in Antarctica would be good for all New Zealanders.

There's a land grab coming up and we want to be in the strongest possible position to hold on to what is ours.

Barrie Cook has a Graduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies from Canterbury University and is a member of the NZ Antarctic Society.