Hardship for Māori in Te Reureu follows land confiscation

Friday, 11 December 2020

Iwi members have told the Crown at the Waitangi Tribunal hearing at Te Tikanga Marae how much they were affected by hte land confiscation at Te Reureu.

Māori from Te Reureu, Manawatū, have told a Waitangi Tribunal of the hardship they experienced following interference from the Crown in the disputed sale of land in the 19th century.

Locals from Te Reureu, which borders the Rangitīkei River north of Halcombe, told the tribunal of their struggles on the final day of a week of hearings for the Porirua ki Manawatū inquiry at Te Tikanga Marae on Friday.

The inquiry is about the historical sale of the Rangitīkei-Manawatū block, which the Ngāti Raukawa iwi confederations claims was not done legitimately. It’s estimated of the hapū’s 8000 hectares, only 1000ha remain in Māori hands now.

Atiria Reid, a trustee of Te Hiiri Marae, said economic benefits had been placed before the importance of the river, which was integral to Māori.

* Valuable land confiscated from Māori by the Crown, tribunal hears

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

She understood there had to be a balance between the environment and the economy, but the contrast was astounding.

Many houses in the area owned by Māori aren’t connected to the water scheme, but farms are, which frustrated Reid.

“The economic focus by [the] council and Government places more value on using the whenua to grow a pumpkin rather than for kāinga [homes] for our people.”

She said the area used to be “alive and bustling' and some family members had hoped to build on the land, but were forced to move away for work.

The family found building in the area, zoned rural, difficult.

She said sewage had discharged into the Rangatawa Stream, which runs into the Rangitikei River, where Māori traditionally gathered kai.

Makere Karatea lives in Te Reureu and she said there had been mismanagement of te reo by the Crown and many Māori couldn’t speak the language, including some of her husband’s family.

“What does that do to leadership potential? What does that do for a hapū? What does that do for my sons and mokopuna?”

Erosion from the river had taken away some of the family’s land and she said flood protection hadn’t been done properly.

“It’s robbed the potential of our homecoming to papa kāinga [ancestral land] for our children. We might lose our home. Once that line of [macrocarpa trees] go, that’s it.”

Her husband Dennis, who is in his 60s, spoke about his time at the now-closed “native school” at Kākāriki, where he was beaten when he was 5 by the principal, who was “the devil”.

The school closed two years later, but the experience robbed him of his confidence.

“After that the damage was done. I was behind the eight ball.”

Tribunal member Monty Soutar said the hearings were like a festering boil and it wasn’t until the pus came out that the healing could start.

Fellow panel member Tania Simpson said education should be a safe and loving environment, and she thanked Karatea for talking about his experience.

“We all need to make sure it stops and never happens again in our future generations.”

The hearings resume in April.