The Alienation of Maori Land in the Ohura South Block
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OFFICIAL Wai 903, A67 The Alienation of Maori Land in the Ohura South block Part Two: c.1900-1960s Tim Shoebridge November 2004 A Report Commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal Table of Contents I. LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................................. 3 II. LIST OF MAPS................................................................................................................................................ 3 III. PREFACE....................................................................................................................................................... 4 IV. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 4 V. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................ 5 4. CONTROL AND ALIENATION OF OHURA SOUTH LANDS, C.1900-1930........................................ 11 4.1. ADMINISTRATION OF MAORI LAND, C.1900-1930 ...................................................................................... 11 4.2. VESTING OF OHURA SOUTH LANDS IN MAORI LAND COUNCILS AND BOARDS, C.1900-1930..................... 14 4.3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SETTLER INTERESTS IN OHURA SOUTH........................................................................ 16 4.4. LEASING OF MAORI LAND IN OHURA SOUTH, C.1900-1930........................................................................ 17 4.4.1. Leases.................................................................................................................................................. 17 4.4.2. Timber leases ...................................................................................................................................... 23 4.5. SALES OF MAORI LAND IN OHURA SOUTH, C.1900-1930............................................................................ 25 4.6. MAORI LAND HOLDINGS IN OHURA SOUTH, C.1900-1930: CONTROL, PARTITION, ALIENATION ................. 29 4.6.1. Protective role of the Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Land Council/Board ............................................. 29 4.6.2. Partitioning of Ohura South lands...................................................................................................... 30 4.6.3. Court costs .......................................................................................................................................... 34 4.6.4. Survey costs......................................................................................................................................... 35 4.6.5. Rates and rates charging orders ......................................................................................................... 37 4.7. CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................................. 39 5. COMPULSORY LAND TAKINGS IN OHURA SOUTH .......................................................................... 42 5.1. TAKINGS FOR PUBLIC WORKS...................................................................................................................... 42 5.1.1. Takings for roads ................................................................................................................................ 43 5.1.2. Takings for railways............................................................................................................................ 48 5.2. THE VESTING OF OHURA SOUTH LANDS IN THE MAORI TRUSTEE, 1953-1965 ............................................ 52 5.3. CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................................................. 60 6. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................................ 62 7. APPENDIX: CURRENT MAORI LAND HOLDINGS IN OHURA SOUTH (INCLUDING TAUMARUNUI TOWNSHIP SECTIONS) ..................................................................................................... 66 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................... 70 2 i. List of tables Table 1: Approximate number of leases and sales consented to by the Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Land Board, 1906-1923................................................................................................. 19 Table 2: Private sales of Maori land in Ohura South, 1910-1930............................................ 26 Table 3: Survey liens charged against Maori Land in Ohura South, c.1901-1930 .................. 36 Table 4: Land alienated to meet survey costs, c.1901-1930 .................................................... 36 Table 5: Takings for roads in Ohura South 1900-1930............................................................ 44 Table 6: Maori land taken for the Stratford Railway Line and road diversion, 1925 .............. 50 Table 7: Compensation assessments for Stratford Railway Takings, 1925-1930.................... 52 Table 8: Ohura South land vested in the Maori Trustee, 1953-1965 ....................................... 54 Table 9: Alienations of Maori land in Ohura South, c.1901-1930........................................... 65 Table 10: Percentage of remaining Maori land by date, 1892-2004........................................ 65 ii. List of maps Map 1 Location of Ohura South in the Whanganui Inquiry District .......................... 8 Map 2 Location of Ohura South in the Rohe Potae (Aotea) Block ............................ 9 Map 3 Location of Ohura South subdivisions .......................................................... 10 3 iii. Preface Tim Shoebridge graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Master of Arts in History in 2004. He formerly completed an Honours dissertation called ‘Settlers and Settling in Manunui, c.1905-c.1942’ (2001), which studies the Ohura South area. He has worked as a researcher with the Waitangi Tribunal since April 2004. He co-wrote Part One of this report with Steven Oliver. iv. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the following people for their assistance: Lecia Schuster, Fiona Small, James Mitchell, Peter Clayworth, Leanne Boulton, Cathy Marr, Jamie Mitchell, the staff of the Maori Trustee’s Office, Wanganui, the staff of the Aotea Maori Land Court, Wanganui, and the staff of Archives New Zealand, Wellington and Auckland offices. 4 v. Introduction This report was commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal to examine issues relating to title determination and alienation in the Ohura South block between c.1886 and 1930. This is the second part of the report, which covers issues relating to alienation of Maori land between c.1900 and 1930, and issues relating to compulsory acquisition of land by the Crown. It also addresses the alienation of land in the block by the Maori Trustee between 1953 and 1965. The report focusses on the period c.1900 to 1930 because it is the period of the most intensive alienations. Part One of this report, released in September 2004, addressed the determination of title by the Native Land Court in the 1880s and 1890s, and the acquisition by the Crown of 73 percent of the Maori land in Ohura South between 1892 and 1901.1 The Ohura South block consists of 117,215 acres, north and west of the Whanganui River, which forms much of the block’s southern boundary. The town of Taumarunui is located in subdivision G of Ohura South. The western part of the southern boundary goes along the northern boundary of the Koiro block, which is the land between the Ohura and Whanganui rivers. The boundary then crosses the Ohura River to reach State Highway 43. The boundary then goes north, turns east, and re-crosses the highway and returns to the Ohura River. From there, the boundary goes north along the Ohura River as far as the Taraunui Stream, and then south-east to the Ongarue and Taringamotu rivers. The Ngakonui and Mangarautawhiri streams form much of the eastern boundary, which rejoins the Whanganui River (see Map 3). This report was commissioned on 1 March 2004, and followed the completion of a scoping report on the Ohura South block by Steven Oliver and Lecia Schuster, in February 2004. The scoping report identified a number of issues for further research. A direction commissioning Steven Oliver, Lecia Schuster and Tim Shoebridge to write a history of Ohura South was drawn up. Steven Oliver wrote Chapters One and Two, and Tim Shoebridge wrote Chapters Three, Four, and Five. Lecia Schuster conducted most of the primary research for Chapters Four and Five. 5 Chapter Overview Chapter Four considers the administration, alienation, and control of Maori land in Ohura South between c.1900 and 1930. In 1903 the northern railhead of the Main Trunk Railway line reached Ohura South, and the Native Township of Taumarunui was created. These made the Ohura South district a feasible proposition for settler industry and farming, and sawmilling was a particularly important industry in the area. The influx of settlers into the area created a demand for land and resources, and these placed pressure on Maori holdings. Large areas of land were leased to settlers, and around 41.4 percent of the remaining Maori land in the block was alienated by sale by 1930. A consequence of selling