In 1978, largely in response to the protest at Bastion Point, the Government made a settlement with some of Ngāti Whātua. The Crown returned only some of the land taken under the Public Works Act – the land which had not been used for the purpose for which it had been taken. The tribe was to pay $200,000 for its return.
Significantly, the descendants of those whose land it was asked for it to be returned not to themselves but to the hapū as a whole.
In 1984, a group of Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. A revised claim was lodged in 1986. The whole hapū supported the claim that:
- Ngāti Whātua were wrongly deprived of the 700-acre Ōrākei block.
- The Ōrākei block ought to have been reserved in tribal ownership and control forever. They did not seek the return of the whole block. They asked only for the return of Crown land which had not been turned into roads or had houses built on it. They did not seek the return of any land in private ownership.
What the Waitangi Tribunal said in its report (1987)
In its 1987 report, the Waitangi Tribunal said that:
- The Crown failed to keep its part of the Treaty of Waitangi, the promise to protect the rights and property of the hapū.
- The Ōrākei block should have been kept as a reserve in tribal ownership.
- The Crown made Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei virtually landless, the Native Land Court destroyed their mana and authority, and they were left without sufficient resources for their own needs.
- Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei had no power to stop the Crown taking over their land and destroying their papakāinga.
- The Crown did not ensure that a marae site was set aside for Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei.
- The protest at Bastion Point was inconsistent with the Treaty of Waitangi because the protesters broke the law by trespassing.
In relation to the last point, the Tribunal did not comment on whether the protesters' convictions should remain.
What the Waitangi Tribunal said should be done
The Waitangi Tribunal said that the following should be done:
- Ōkahu Park and the headlands of Bastion Point (apart from the Savage Memorial) should be returned to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei in tribal ownership. The land should be used as public parks, managed by the hapū and the Auckland City Council together.
- The Ōrākei marae and the Ōkahu church and urupā should be returned to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei tribal ownership.
- The hapū should not have to pay the $200,000 for the return of land under the 1978 settlement.
- A further three hectares of land at Bastion Point should be returned to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei for development as they saw fit.
- The sum of $3 million should be paid to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei to fund the hapū's development.
- The tribal authority of Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei should be officially recognised.
- Members of Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei should have first option to occupy State houses at Ōrākei.
What the Government did
The Government agreed with the Waitangi Tribunal's findings. It paid $3 million to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei to assist it with housing and other development. It passed a new law, the Ōrākei Act 1991, to recognise the rights of Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei under the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Act:
- Recognises the Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Trust Board as the tribal authority which represents all members of the hapū.
- Returns to Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei an area of hapū land. Part of this land cannot be sold or leased, and will be used for a marae, a church, and an urupā. It will be the tūrangawaewae of the hapū, forever. Another part of the land may be leased for development by the hapū.
- Sets aside an area of whenua rangatira, a Māori reserve for the benefit of the hapū and the people of Auckland. The trust board named this area Takaparawhā Reserve. It will be looked after by the Auckland City Council and the Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Trust Board together.
- Hands back to the Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Trust Board as hapū land some lands which were going to be used as roads.
The Government intended this to be a 'full and final settlement'. The Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Trust Board may still negotiate the settlement of any other outstanding claims it may have in the Auckland area which relate to the customary rights of the hapū.
The Ōrākei block today
In 1987, as they considered the sad history of the loss of land by Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei, the Waitangi Tribunal saw a spark of hope. They said that the Government settlement of 1978, though it gave back so little to the hapū, was the beginning of vastly better hopes for the people, and a vehicle on which to travel along a new route.
From that point, what little land Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei owned, it owned communally, like Māori land of old. The plague that individual ownership brought to the tribe was finally buried. As the Waitangi Tribunal said, 'Ngāti Whātua of Ōrākei may have little land left, but it is the only tribe in New Zealand to own all that it has in the customary way'.
