Valuable land confiscated from Māori by the Crown, tribunal hears

Wednesday, 9 December 2020

Land taken from Māori by the Crown in Te Reureu, Manawatū, is estimated to be worth between $250million and $770m today.

Tiwana Tibble of Ngati Pikiahu made the valuation at a Waitangi Tribunal hearing at Te Tikanga Marae at Tokorangi, north of Halcombe, on Wednesday, as part of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi confederations treaty claim.

This week of hearings is focused on the Te Reureu area, which borders the Rangitīkei River, but is part of a case relating to the historical purchase of the Rangitīkei-Manawatū block in the 19th century. The block is about 130,000 hectares of land between Manawatū and Kāpiti.

Raukawa claims the area was not bought legitimately, but confiscated by the pen.

**READ MORE:

* Land loss and river contamination stand in the way of Māori aspirations, tribunal hears

* Hapū feels left out of decision-making about its valley and river

* First Crown purchase of Manawatū Māori land violated Treaty of Waitangi, hapū says

**

Tibble has connections to Ngāti Pikihau Waewae, is a former chief executive of Ngāti Whātua Ōrake, and worked for 30 years in Māori economic development.

It’s estimated of the 8000ha hapū owned besides the Rangitikei River, only 1000ha are still in Māori hands today, a thin strip seen as inadequate.

He said it was a “big land loss” at Te Reureu and the land would be worth between $250m and $770m today, judging by how much land is valued and how many houses are nearby.

“When I look at it from a commercial point of view and as an ex-chief executive I see 15,000 acres [6000 ha], and when [the Crown] kept 15,000 acres [6000ha] they broke all the rules of contact.

“For some reason the Crown, who were supposed to be acting on our behalf as Treaty [of Waitangi] partners, they gave us a quarter of it.

“I fail to comprehend how the other three quarters can be sold to someone else.”

Tribunal panel member Tania Simpson said Tipple hadn’t taken into account the lost opportunity of working the land, and the loss of identity, te reo and reputation when making the valuation.

“If you assign economic values to those things, I think you will find it’s an enormous number. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing that.

“We’re talking about the consequence and impact on the people.”

The hearing was also told of the history of Ngāti Rangatahi and Ngāti Matakore in the area, by Paul Husbands and Brian Emery.

Rangatahi had migrated to the area after being forced to abandon settlements in Hutt Valley, while information on Matakore’s move to Te Reureu was sparse, Husbands said.

Emery said the people did not agree to the sale of the land and as a result there was a land shortage.

“If the Crown relies on the decision of the Native Land Court it must be discounted, because the Crown should have applied to the Native Land Court to determine the ownership before, not after [the sale].”

John Rewiti of Ngāti Waewae gave evidence about the history of the hapū in the area and the sale of blocks of land.

He said Ngāti Pikihau and Ngāti Waewae had lived in Te Reureu before the purchase of the Rangitikei-Turakina block, but the Crown legislated the transfer of iwi land and waterways in Te Reureu into private hands.

Settlers viewed Rangitīkei as valuable land and a valuable commodity.

“The Crown purchase process was designed to displace Māori from as much of their land as possible.

“In particular, the case of Rangitīkei-Manawatū, it was rushed through in 2½ weeks, when the primary means of transport between Palmerston North and Wellington was by horse or foot.”

He said the 1619ha given to hapū in Te Reureu compared poorly with that across the Rangitīkei River.