The Alienation by Sale of the Hapu Estate of Ngati He at Tauranga Moana

114 Pages·2005·5.61 MB·English

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The Alienation by Sale
of the Hapu Estate
of
Ngati He
at Tauranga Moana
'-
Volume One: the Nineteenth Century
A Report Commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal for
WAI342
By Grant Young
March 2001
All opinions expressed are those of the author only
;'" ,: .
Contents
Part 1: Introduction. 7
Part 2: Conflict, Confiscation and Commissioners.
Maori Land at Tauranga Moana, 1862-1886. 20
Part 3: Nineteenth Century Alienations. 25
3.1 Restrictions on the Alienation of Maori Land. 25
3.2 Alienations. 32
Part 4: Conclusion. 77
~]
,-
Part 5: Appendix: Tables of Alienations. 83
Part 6: Bibliography. 110
11
Abbreviations
AJHR Appendices to the Journals of the House of
Representatives.
CT Certificate of Title.
LINZ Land Information New Zealand.
NA National Archives.
PR Provisional Register.
iii
Maps
Map 1: Tauranga Confiscated Lands 14
Map 2: Investigation of Title of 'Lands Returned' 15
. Map 3: 'Lands Returned' East of Tauranga Harbour
and Waimapu River 16
Map 4: Part of Tauranga Survey District Map 17 -
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MapS: Part of Otanewainuku Survey District 18
"
Map
Map 6: Part of Maketu Survey District Map 19
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Acknowledgments
This report has been researched and written under the supervIsIOn of Michael
Belgrave of the School of Social Policy and Social Work at Massey University,
Albany. I would like to record my thanks to Michael for his assistance and
encouragement throughout the project, despite so many other commitments. I am
also grateful to Karen Beedie of the School for her ready and efficient help in
facilitating the research.
Rachael Willan of the Tribunal provided essential advice and suggestions early in the
project. Marinus La Rooij took over where Rachael left off and was instrumental in
bringing this project to a conclusion. His thoughtful contributions and unfailing
support has been invaluable. Fiona Hamilton is another researcher who has provided
significant support particularly in locating some obscure Supreme Court records.
Moreover her unflagging endorsement of the project and her sense of humour have
been of immense importance.
Most importantly though I would like to offer my gratitude and special thanks to Dan
Heke, Aroha Ririnui, Delwyn Little, Mere Stokes-McLeod, the Ngati He Raupatu
Komiti and all those who attended meetings at Maungatapu Marae to talk about the
research, the land, themselves and their tupuna. I learnt much from these meetings
that old pieces of papers could never tell me. I would particularly like to thank Aroha
and Delwyn for their research assistance, advice and support. This report is only a
small part of the story and there is still so much more to be said and so many words
yet to be written. I hope it helps you to tell some of that story.
Finally, archivists at National Archives, Auckland and Wellington and the staff of the
Maori Land Court at Hamilton and of LINZ offices up and down the North Island
have provided patient and endless assistance in response to numerous cries for help.
And as always, thanks to Tracy Tulloch for her willingness to talk.
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The Author
In September 1999 the author graduated with a Master of Arts degree with first class
honours in history from the University of Auckland. From 1997 to 1999 he was
assistant-lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Auckland. He has
been awarded a scholarship to study for the degree of doctor of philosophy by Massey
University and began a programme of study at that university's Albany campus in
March 2000.
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Index of Blocks
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KAWAUNUI 35
OTAWANo.l 72
TUTUKERANGA 36
WAITAHANo.2 42
WAOKUNo.2 32
WAOKUNo.2A 33
34
WAOKUNo.2B
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Part 1:
Introduction.
The claim, dated 6 February 1993, is lodged by Tane Whare Makai Heke Heke
Kaiawha, on behalf of Ngati He, hapu of Ngaiterangi. It is part of Wai 342, the Ngati
He lands claim. The land is located in the Western Bay of Plenty near Tauranga.
The original statement of claim raised two issues relating to confiscation of land by
the Crown and the erection of power lines without consultation. However, in
subsequent correspondence and discussions between Tribunal staff, claimants and
claimant counsel, the following issues emerged as their key concerns for this
particular commission:
• The title investigations and Crown grants for the blocks.
• The alienation of interests in the blocks.
• The impact of land consolidation schemes on the hapu.
• The circumstances in which land was taken for public works such as roads,
bridges and power lines.
• The impact of rating on the land, particularly in terms of the alienation of
parts of the blocks.
• The role of the Maori Land Court in administering the blocks.
• The exclusion of Maori soldiers from the discharged servicemen
settlements established after the First World War.
A number of blocks were identified by the hapu.
After initial research and discussion with members of the hapu, a direction
commissioning research was issued by the Waitangi Tribunal on 2 December 1999. It
required the following issues be examined:
• A summary of the issues raised by existing research that examines public
works, development schemes, and urbanisation, in Tauranga affecting
blocks identified by Ngati He.
• An examination of the circumstances where the Tauranga Commissioner's
Court awarded certain blocks of land to Ngati He.
• Partitions of the land by the NativelMaori Land Court.
• The removal of alienation restrictions from land awarded to Ngati He.
• Whether the Crown took adequate steps to protect Ngati He land from
alienation and whether it ensured that Ngati He retained a reasonable
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interest in their land to allow for their participation in the economic
development of the Tauranga region.
At a meeting held at Maungatapu Marae on 21 November 1999, members of Ngati He
hapu selected the key blocks awarded to Ngati He by the Commissioner's Court for
which research would be undertaken. The following blocks were identified and are
the subject of this report:
Block! Area Owners
(acres)
1. Ahipouto 20 36
2. Kaitimako No.1 472 40
3. Kaitimako No.2 138 37
4. Kaitimako No.3 125 36
5. Kawaunui 30 5
6. Maungatapu No.1 319 140
7. Maungatapu No.2 8 58
8.0ruamatua 80 21
9. Otawa No.1 5,000 143
10. Otawa No.2 1,580 143
11. Puwhariki 40 8
12. Ranginui 312 153
13. Tapuaeotu 51 6
14. Te Ngaio 43 107
15. Tongaparaoa No.1 35 19
16. Tongaparaoa No.2 37 23
17. Tongaparaoa No.3 29 8
18. Tumatanui 55 13
19. Tutukeranga 99 *
20. Waitaha No.2 8,082 84
21. Waoku No.2 1,656 59
22. Waoku No.3 500 40
The research was carried out and a draft report produced over a three month period
from December 1999 to February 2000. A series of meetings were held from March
to July 2000 to discuss the content and format of the draft report. These meetings
Notes: The number of owners is taken from the names entered in the original Crown Grants. The
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names of the blocks submitted by the claimants have been amended slightly to correspond to the blocks
awarded by the Commissioners of Tauranga Lands. The number of original owners for Tutukeranga
(*) is unknown. Source: Evelyn Stokes, 'The Allocation of Reserves in the Tauranga Confiscated
Lands. Volume 2: Index Lists of Names of Individual Maori Allocated Lands, 1865-1886,' July 1997,
WAI 215, A57a.
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culminated in a further meeting held at Maungatapu Marae on 27 July 2000 where a
number of decisions were made. It was decided this report would focus exclusively
on the alienation by sale of the blocks of land identified by Ngati He. Summaries of
existing research relating to public works, development schemes and Maori Trustee
leases would not be included in the report. These issues would however be referred to
briefly in the conclusion. In addition, while a short overview of the Tauranga
Commissioner's Court would be provided, detailed accounts of Ngati He's
participation in the conflicts of the 1860s and the way in which the Court awarded
certain blocks of land to Ngati He would not be included. Many of these issues are
examined in a separate report prepared by Fiona Hamilton.2
Subsequently, in January 2001, Marinus La Rooij of the Tribunal advised that the
draft report should be divided in two to satisfy the directions of the Presiding Officer
issued in August 2000. In consequence, one volume deals with the nineteenth century
and a forthcoming second volume will deal with the twentieth century. The subjects
examined by the report as a whole remain the same. The present volume, therefore,
deals with the nineteenth century only. The second volume needs to be read in
conjunction with the first. This introduction, which describes the report and some
significant issues regarding the research, also introduces the second volume.
This project has traced the alienation by sale of the blocks identified by Ngati He.
Both volumes of the report draw on existing research to describe the process by which
land was alienated in general and the way the process changed over time. They then
focus on each individual alienation using the records available and locates them
within the process of alienation used at the time. They attempt to assess each
alienation but also discuss the significant general issues which emerge overall. The
report approximates comprehensiveness in terms of the alienation by sale of the
blocks identified, but due to the nature of the records there may be some gaps. In
addition, the second volume of the report, which examines the twentieth century,
draws on existing research relating to the sub-division of Maori land where relevant to
alienation.
Both volumes of the report are organised chronologically. Part 2 of this volume
provides a brief overview of conflict and confiscation in Tauranga in the 1860s along
with an account of the operation of the Commissioner's Court and the process by
which confiscated land was returned to Tauranga Maori. The alienation by sale of the
land identified by Ngati He is examined in Part 3. Nineteenth century alienations are
the focus. This part provides a general overview of the process by which Maori land
was alienated during the nineteenth century and the operation of protections designed
Fiona Hamilton, 'Ngati He Historical Report: the Nineteenth Century,' Crown Forestry Rental Trust,
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Wellington, November 2000, Wai 342, A3.