TE WHANGANUI-A-OROTU REPORT 1995 TE WHANGANUI-A-OROTU REPORT 1995 WAI 55 WAITANGI TRIBUNAL REPORT 1995 The cover design by Cliff Whiting invokes the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the consequent interwoven development of Maori and Pakeha history in New Zealand as it continuously unfolds in a pattern not yet completely known A Waitangi Tribunal Report ISBN 1-86956-193-7 © Crown copyright 1995, 1997 First published in 1995 by Brooker’s Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand Second edition published in 1997 by GP Publications, Wellington, New Zealand This electronic facsimile reproduction of the second edition published in 2014 Printed by GP Print, Wellington, New Zealand Set in Times New Roman ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank a number of staff who assisted us at various stages throughout the hearings and report writing; in particular, Mata Fuala’au and Phyllis Ferguson for administrative and word processing assistance; Lyn Fussell, Hemi Pou, and Moana Murray for claims administrative duties; and Noel Harris for the production of the maps. Preliminary research for this claim was undertaken by Joy Hippolite, research in the course of the hearings by Penny Ehrhardt, and assistance with report writing and further inquiries by Dean Cowie and Rowan Tautari. The report was edited and produced by Dominic Hurley with Mark Larsen’s assistance. We would like to thank Malcolm McKinnon, the editor of The New Zealand Historical Atlas, for providing mapping material in figure 3 and for arranging access to Mark Allen’s thesis, and Mark Allen himself for permitting us to use material from it. We would also like to thank the successors of Paora Torotoro for making available to us a laser copy of the original 1867 survey plan (fig 13). v LIST OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Te tono a te iwi (the claim) .................................................................................1 1.2 The claim area .....................................................................................................1 1.3 The claimants ......................................................................................................4 1.4 The claim ............................................................................................................4 1.5 The development of the claim ............................................................................4 1.6 Findings and recommendations sought ...............................................................6 1.7 The hearings ........................................................................................................6 Chapter 2: Nga Hapu o Te Whanganui-a-Orotu 2.1 Te powhiri .......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Maori history of Te Whanganui-a-Orotu ..........................................................10 2.3 Te Whanganui-a-Orotu a taonga .......................................................................18 2.4 Principal pa sites ...............................................................................................18 2.5 Customary use rights ........................................................................................19 Chapter 3: Ahuriri Purchase 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................27 3.2 Early European contacts ...................................................................................27 3.3 Crown land purchase policy and proceedings ..................................................34 3.4 McLean negotiates Ahuriri purchase ................................................................37 3.5 Final arrangements ............................................................................................47 3.6 Completing the purchase ..................................................................................52 3.7 Official reports on the Ahuriri purchase ...........................................................53 3.8 Conclusions .......................................................................................................54 Chapter 4: The Deed, Translation, and Plan 4.1 The originals .....................................................................................................57 4.2 The copies .........................................................................................................59 4.3 The deed ............................................................................................................59 4.4 Lament and farewell to ancestral lands .............................................................63 4.5 Reservation of Roro o Kuri ...............................................................................66 4.6 Fishing rights and canoe landing places ...........................................................66 4.7 The deed plan ....................................................................................................68 4.8 Was the red line on the plan before the deed was signed? ................................69 4.9 Two different viewpoints ..................................................................................71 vii Contents Chapter 5: Settler Encroachments in the Provincial Period 5.1 Sharing the harbour with the settlers ................................................................77 5.2 Pastoralism overwhelms partnership ................................................................79 5.3 Further Crown land purchases ..........................................................................80 5.4 Anti-land selling movement ..............................................................................83 5.5 Renewed land purchasing .................................................................................84 5.6 Port development and reclamation ...................................................................88 5.7 The loss of Te Pakake .......................................................................................90 5.8 The Crown's anomalous position on reserves and islands ................................90 5.9 Paora Torotoro’s application for title to six islands ..........................................92 5.10 Tareha claims reclaimed land ............................................................................92 5.11 An inner harbour versus breakwater harbour ...................................................92 5.12 The provincial government proposes Te Whanganui-a-Orotu as security for a harbour loan ............................................................................93 Chapter 6: The Expropriation of Te Whanganui-a-Orotu by Statute 6.1 Te Whanganui-a-Orotu is vested in Napier Harbour Board ............................ 95 6.2 The loss of Pukemokimoki .............................................................................. 97 6.3 Dredging and reclaiming Te Whanganui-a-Orotu before the earthquake ........................................................................................98 6.4 Roads and bridges ...........................................................................................100 6.5 The reclamation of the lagoon ........................................................................101 6.6 Pollution of the Ahuriri Estuary ......................................................................105 Chapter 7: The Loss of All That Remained 7.1 The impact of the 1931 earthquake .................................................................107 7.2 Relief and reconstruction ................................................................................110 7.3 Renewed harbour development .......................................................................111 7.4 The reclamation of the lagoon ........................................................................112 7.5 The diversion of the Tutaekuri River ..............................................................114 7.6 Land development for farm settlement ...........................................................115 7.7 The compulsory acquisition of the islands ......................................................116 7.8 Conclusion ......................................................................................................120 Chapter 8: The Disposal and Utilisation of Reclaimed Land 8.1 The evidence ...................................................................................................127 8.2 The greater Napier scheme .............................................................................127 8.3 Hawke’s Bay Airport ......................................................................................132 8.4 The Ahuriri Farm Settlement ..........................................................................133 8.5 The division of Crown land ............................................................................137 8.6 The demise of the harbour board and the division of the remaining endowment ..........................................................................137 8.7 Environmental damage ...................................................................................140 viii Contents Chapter 9: The Ahuriri Estuary: Environmental and Management Issues 9.1 The issues ........................................................................................................137 9.2 The estuary and its ecological importance ......................................................137 9.3 Conflict over use and management .................................................................139