DEED OF SETTLEMENT

As a Post Settlement Governance Entity, Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara is tasked with building a prosperous future for its people through the creation of opportunity and connection.   

This cannot be achieved without dedication to upholding the mana of Rangatira who gave life to this entity to through the Wai312 claim. 

The speech below delivered to Parliament in 2012 by then Minister of Māori Affairs Hon Dr Pita Sharples signalled the end to a long arduous journey for them and those before them. 

Crown Breaches

  • From 1844 - 1865 pre-emptive waiver transactions, Crown purchases and Native Land Court Sales reduced Maori customary land occupation from 400,000 acres to 156,000 acres.

  • From 1865 - 1910 Native Land Act 1909 and Public Works Act 1882 reduced Maori Customary Land Occupation from 156,000 acres to 36,381 acres.

In 1906, the last substantial area of land remaining in Māori ownership in south Kaipara, the Otakanini block, was compulsorily vested in the Tokerau District Māori Land Board without consultation with the owners. This denied the owners any meaningful role in the administration of the land for fifty years. Leases over the block were not properly administered and upon the return of Otakanini block in 1958, the owners carried significant burdens.

Poor economic circumstance forced many Ngāti Whātua to move to Auckland and other urban centres in search of work, particularly from the 1950s onwards. Living conditions for those who remained in the south Kaipara resembled rural slums.

The Crown failed to monitor the ongoing impact of land purchases on Ngāti Whātua and, by the 1940s, Ngāti Whātua had been rendered virtually landless. This, and the cumulative effect of the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles, has significantly undermined the tino rangatiratanga of Ngāti Whātua, their economic and social development and physical, cultural and spiritual well being, with effects that continue to be felt to the present day.

In the case of Ngāti Whātuā o Kaipara in it's journey to reclaim its identify and rightful assets we have a large collection of taonga that our team is currently working through to archive for the benefit of our people. A small part of the collection will be publically available, the rest and will be held for private or on application access only in accordance with our taonga and archiving policies. Here we are only able to provide a brief summary of the historical context which cannot capture the essence of the time aand efforts of those who fought for the recognition of Ngāti Whātuā o Kaipara.

We acknowledge the tireless efforts of the mandated claims komiti members who led the claim through to the settlement as well as the whanau who walked alongside throughout.

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