Wai 898 #A79 The Native Land Court, land titles and Crown land purchasing in the Rohe Potae district, 1866 ‐ 1907 A report for the Te Rohe Potae district inquiry (Wai 898) Paul Husbands James Stuart Mitchell November 2011 ii Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Report summary .................................................................................................................................. 1 The Statements of Claim ..................................................................................................................... 3 The report and the Te Rohe Potae district inquiry .............................................................................. 5 The research questions ........................................................................................................................ 6 Relationship to other reports in the casebook ..................................................................................... 8 The Native Land Court and previous Tribunal inquiries .................................................................. 10 Sources .............................................................................................................................................. 10 The report’s chapters ......................................................................................................................... 20 Terminology ...................................................................................................................................... 24 A note of spelling of Maori names and places .................................................................................. 26 Chapter One: The Native Land Court applications for the Rohe Potae block: 1883-1886 .......... 35 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 35 1.2 The 1883 Rohe Potae block application ..................................................................................... 38 1.3 The survey of the 1883 Rohe Potae block .................................................................................. 59 1.4 The renewed application for investigation of title to the Rohe Potae block: April 1886 ............ 60 1.5 The filing of the 1886 application ............................................................................................... 86 1.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 88 Table for Chapter One ...................................................................................................................... 90 Chapter Two: 1886 The Court at Otorohanga ................................................................................. 99 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 99 2.2 The Otorohanga Court .............................................................................................................. 104 2.3 Hearing the Aotea-Rohe Potae block (28 July to 20 October 1886) ......................................... 111 2.4 The ‘Rohe Potae Judgment’ (20 October 1886) ....................................................................... 131 2.5 A Court that worked for Maori? ............................................................................................... 135 2.6 Approving the lists of owners (21 October to 5 November 1886) ............................................ 147 2.7 Formal protests against the Rohe Potae judgment .................................................................... 153 2.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 154 Chapter Three: The subdivision of the Rohe Potae block: 1887-1890 ......................................... 159 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 159 3.2 Overview: The work of the Court, 1887-1890 .......................................................................... 161 i 3.3 Te Rohe Potae Maori and the Native Land Court, 1887-1890.................................................. 170 3.4 Arranging the division of the land: out of court agreements .................................................... 186 3.5 The Court as adjudicator ........................................................................................................... 200 3.6 The Crown and the Court, 1887-1891 ...................................................................................... 212 3.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 221 Table for Chapter Three .................................................................................................................. 225 Chapter Four: ‘To facilitate the settlement of the Country’ The Native Land Court and Crown land purchasing: 1891-1907 ............................................................................................................. 227 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 227 4.2 A new government and a new Judge ........................................................................................ 231 4.3 The ‘individualization of interests’ ........................................................................................... 236 4.4 Recovering the costs of survey ................................................................................................. 242 4.5 Crown land purchasing ............................................................................................................. 247 4.6 Awarding the Crown its ‘interest’ ............................................................................................. 250 4.7 ‘Community separation through subdivision’ ........................................................................... 256 4.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 269 Tables for Chapter Four .................................................................................................................. 273 Chapter Five: The Otorohanga Court in the Liberal Era, 1892-1907 Part One: The costs of engagement ........................................................................................................................................ 279 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 279 5.2 The Native Land Court in Te Rohe Potae, 1892-1907 .............................................................. 281 5.3 The costs of engagement ........................................................................................................... 289 5.4 Survey costs .............................................................................................................................. 300 5.5 Paying for surveys ..................................................................................................................... 311 5.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 329 Tables for Chapter Five .................................................................................................................. 333 Chapter Six: The Otorohanga Court in the Liberal Era, 1892-1907 Part Two: Processes and protections ......................................................................................................................................... 371 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 371 6.2 The Notification of upcoming cases ......................................................................................... 372 6.3 Making allowances for those who were absent ......................................................................... 375 6.4 Absentees by principle .............................................................................................................. 381 6.5 A Court that was independent and impartial? ........................................................................... 387 6.6 The Role of the Assessor .......................................................................................................... 396 6.7 An ‘alien’ and ‘adversarial’ process? ........................................................................................ 404 6.8 Protections and restrictions ....................................................................................................... 415 ii 6.9 The right of appeal .................................................................................................................... 428 6.10 Petitioning for redress ............................................................................................................. 435 6.11 Conclusion 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