The Parikino Block Claim

Wai 903, #A22 OFFICIAL RESEARCH REPORT ON THE PARI KINO BLOCK CLAIM WAI 214 Tom Bennion 18 February 1994 Parikino research report 2 Scope of the Research Thi s report is the resul t of one week I s research of the documentary material available and several days writing Up.l The research included a one day visit to the offices of the Maori Land Court and Maori Trustee in Wanganui. I have viewed many of the original land court minutes and files relating to this block and its subdivisions (I was greatly aSSisted by the claimants who provided many papers from the block files and a Maori Trustee file). I have concentrated in particular on subdivision number 7, where, as the evidence shows, urupa are located. I have, in the time available, been able to view many, but by no means all of the relevant papers, and I note below areas which might reward further research. I believe however that the material viewed so far does allow some preliminary conclusions to be drawn about events in this block and the movement of the land out of the hands of the original Maori owners. Research Credentials My name is Thomas Hugh Bennion. In 1987 I graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington with a Bachelor of Laws with honours and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in history. In 1986-88 I worked part-time as a researcher for the Law Commission on the production of the Commission report The Treaty of Waitangi and Maori Fisheries. Mataitai: Nga Tikanga Maori Me Te Tiriti 0 Waitangi. In 1988 I also worked briefly for the Waitangi Tribunal assisting with research for the Muriwhenua Fishing report. Later in that year I began work as the legal officer of the tribunal, a position which I held until November 1994. From February 1993 I also acted as research manager for the tribunal. I have also acted as legal adviser to the head office of the Maori Land Court. I now work privately as a consultant on Treaty matters, and edit a monthly legal newsheet, the Maori Law Review. see commission, DB 1 Parikino research report 3 Summary of the Report The land known as the Parikino block was owned by memberS of the Ngati Hinearo, Ngati Tuera and other Whanganui river hapu prior to and after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi; It was a significant area to these hapu, containing pa sites and urupa; In 1876 the customary title to the block was investigated by the Native Land Court and a memorial of ownership ordered; because of a continuing dispute among some of the persons designated as owners in 1876, in 1889 the block was partitioned into 7 parts. There is evidence that the seventh subdivision was intended to encompass urupa on the block; In 1913 a local farmer began collecting owners' signatures for leases over parts of the block, including part 7; In 1914, possibly in reaction to this activity, a local chief, not a listed owner in part 7, sought and gained a court order partitioning part 7 into two parts, and a recommendation that the northern part of the block be made an inalienable urupa reserve by Order in Council; Lawyers for the local farmer threatened to challenge the order and recommendation. The recommendation was not put into effect; In 1919 the parties reappeared before the court, and the owners requested and were granted a cancellation of the old orders and fresh partition orders were made. The documentary evidence suggests that several acres, part 7A, were set aside to satisfy those seeking to lease (that part was subsequently leased, then sold to the local farmer). The balance of the block, part 7B, which contained the urupa areas, was not leased and remained in Maori hands. No reference was recorded in the court minutes to the earlier urupa reservation request; In the following years the Maori owners leased part 7B to a local Maori, with the exception of 2 acres for an urupa reserve; In 1966-7 a shareholder in part 7B and several other Parikino subdivisions, wishing to use the land for grazing, made an arrangement with the Maori Trustee to have the shares in the subdivisions declared uneconomic under the Maori Affairs Act 1953 and vested in the Maori Trustee, then sold to the shareholder. This conversion of shares and sale was actively supported by the Trustee; Pari kino research report 4 The Maori Land Court approved the scheme, over the objections of several owners. The documentary evidence examined reveals no statements about the urupa on 7B during this process, apart from a reference to the exception in the lease on that block noted above. In 1975 the shareholder, now sole owner, sold the blocks gained under this scheme to the non-Maori owners and they became general land. These alienations were confirmed without comment by the Maori Land Court. The detailed report follows. Parikino research report 5 o The Claim The Parikino block consisted of 226 acres on the right or western bank of the Whanganui river about 23 miles above Wanganui. It was opposi te a settlement on the eastern bank known as Parikino. Today no part of it remains in Maori hands. In February 1991 a claim was lodged with the Waitang1 Tribunal by Kenehi Robert Mair. Mr Mair said that he is of Ngati Hinearo and Ngati Tuera hapu and that these hapu were "wrongly deprived" of blocks within Parikino which "are of cultural and spiritual significance" and had n[t]raditional pa sites and urupa" located on them. The statement of claim referred to blocks 2, 3, 4 and 7B. As will be seen later, these blocks were the subject of common applications in 1967 which resulted in their being vested in the Maori Trustee and later sold to a former shareholder for farming purposes. That shareholder sold to predecessors of the present European owners. The statement of claim did not specify particular actions of the Crown, but referred generally to native land acts of 1862, 1865, 1869 and to the Maori Affairs Act 1953, and amending act of 1967. It was stated that n[t]hese blocks should have been reserved as a whole in the hapu ownership and control in accordance with our customs". It was said that because of Crown actions "we do not have today the hapu endowment which ought to have been our inheri tance" . In June 1992 the claimants in a brief statement amended the claim to add the remaining Parikino blocks, designated 1, 5, 6, and 7A. Maori on the Land Prior to the Land Court The claimants have provided the following notes on the block: the name Parikino means bad/steep cliffs, and it is believed that our people deliberately moved to this papakainga as it was an excellent papakainga to defend from outside invaders. The name of the hapu that occupied Parikino were Ngati Hinearo and Ngati Tuera, with Ngatl Tuera moving further up the river (date unknown). It is believed that Ngatl Hinearo occupied Pariklno for at least 250-300 years shifting across the river to its present site about the 1860 ' s. The reason being that they had easier access by track (now the road) to get to town to sell their goods. One of the names of our present whare tipuna is named from this shift across the river called Whakawhiti. Parikino research report 6 There are numerous urupa at Parikino with some known and unknown, it is strongly believed that Tumango the namesake of a hapu called Ngati Tumango is buried at Parikino. However what is definitely known is that Paetaha a well known leader of his time, is buried along with his descendants at Parikino, this urupa is well marked and named. It has been very difficult to get the history of Parikino, this being due to a hesitancy by some of our kaumatua to have it recorded and perhaps some of the history has been lost over the years. However it should be stated that the wairuatanga felt for this land is extremely strong. 2 The documentary evidence supports these comments. A table from court records showing hapu and tribes of the owners 3 shows owners not just from Ngati Tuera and "Ngatihineara", but also Ngapoutama, Nga Paerangi, Ngatitumango, Ngatikura and Ngatirawara hapu. 4 Obviously the block had associations for a number of the river hapu. There were pa sites on the block. Several are mentioned in Land Court minutes of 1889; Te Pohue, Parikino (a predecessor to the pa of that name on the eastern riverbank), and Te Ahi Inaina. 5 Plans prepared for the Maori Land Court in 1876 clearly note "Te Pohoe Pa" within the block, and another pa site noted on the ri verbank, "Ahi Inaina ,,6 and a 1912 plan referred to an "old pah" on the boundary of the number 6 subdivision (the subdivision is named "Te Pohue,,)7. Downes in his book "Old Whanganui" makes the following comment: Pari-kino was a pa on the cliff side of the river opposite Kai-tangata. The modern name for this abandoned pa is Hiona (Zion) .8 2 printed note provided by claimants, DB 6 IF Whanganui MB 37, DB 15 4 there is also a statement by Hakaraia Korako identifying Ngapoutama, Ngapaerangi, HHinearo u, and Ngatihinepango, 8 December 1871, ID Whanganui MB 460 5 15 Whanganui MB 38, 41-2, 48, 50, 52, DB 16ff. Apparently Te Pohue was built as an outpost against raids by Te Rauparaha 6 WD 103, DB 82 7 WD 2380, DB 84 8 1915, p116, see also 15 Whanganui MB 45.

Load more