Rapua ngā tuhinga ruku tātari

Claim Wai 55, dealing with Te Whanganui-a-Orotu, or the Napier inner harbour, was lodged with the Tribunal in March 1988 by seven local hapu. It was granted urgency because leasehold sections in the claim area were about to be sold.

The claimants sought a finding that Te Whanganui-a-Orotu was their taonga and that they had never knowingly or willingly relinquished their tino rangatiratanga over it. They wanted the Tribunal to recommend that legislation vesting the title to Te Whanganui-a-Orotu in others be repealed or amended, that all Crown and other public lands in Te Whanganui-a-Orotu be returned, and that compensation be paid for those parts of Te Whanganui-a-Orotu that had passed from the Crown into private ownership.

The Tribunal that heard the claim comprised Bill Wilson (presiding), Bishop Manuhuia Bennett, Sir John Ingram, Mary Boyd, and Georgina Te Heuheu. Six hearings were held between July 1993 and July 1994, and the report was released in July 1995.

The Tribunal found that a number of clear breaches of Treaty principles had occurred, beginning with the Crown's inclusion of Te Whanganui-a-Orotu in the Ahuriri purchase in 1851, and it recommended that there be no further alienations of any Crown or State-owned enterprise land within the pre-1851 boundaries of Te Whanganui-a-Orotu. It also suggested that a substantial fund be set up to compensate for what the Tribunal concluded were irretrievable losses caused to the claimants.

At that stage, however, the Tribunal considered that it was inappropriate for it to make final recommendations on the issue of remedies, and it set aside a week in early November 1995 to hear submissions on that issue. In June 1998, the Tribunal released its report on remedies, which recommended that various lands in the claim area be returned to the claimants and that monetary compensation be paid.

This short report sets out the Tribunal’s proposed remedies in regard to the Wai 55 claim about Te Whanganui-a-Orotu, or the Napier inner harbour.

the Governor will seize a part of the lands of the Tribes who conceal these murderers, and will use them for the purpose of maintaining peace in that part of the country and of providing for the widows and relatives of the murdered people.

New Zealand Gazette

The Ngati Awa Raupatu Report is an abbreviated report, containing no formal recommendations, that was written to support a settlement of claims arising from the Ngati Awa raupatu in the Bay of Plenty, when some 245,000 acres of land were confiscated. The report urges that all historical matters between the Crown and the Ngati Awa runanga and the runanga for Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau be settled.

The Tribunal that heard the claims comprised Chief Judge Eddie T Durie (presiding), Brian Corban, Professor Gordon Orr, Professor Keith Sorrenson, and Keita Walker. There were 12 separate hearings, which spanned almost a year and a half during the course of 1994 and 1995.

The Tribunal found that the confiscation of the Ngati Awa land was contrary to the principles of the Treaty, in that the Treaty did not allow of it and the circumstances did not justify the suspension of the Treaty rights amongst the Ngati Awa people. It emphasised that the land was confiscated not for the murder of a Crown official, as is popularly thought, but for the rebellion arising from alleged resistance when an armed force attempted to effect arrests. However, the Tribunal considered that the resistance was intended not as rebellion, or as opposition to the Government, but to defend against that which appeared to be an invading force, bent on revenge.

In addition, the Tribunal found that far more land was taken than the legislation allowed for, that it was taken from 'innocent' hapu with no involvement in the matters complained of, that a major relocation was involved to place all hapu within ready reach of a military establishment, that the hapu were left with insufficient for their needs, and that social structures were destabilised when all hapu land was locked into a fragmented, personal tenure.

I have seen many of our people today fail to observe even the most simple protocols and customs. I have seen some of our people [trample] over the tikanga that is special to us and has been laid down by our ancestors before us. I have seen our people on some occasions deny that they are Ngati Awa.

Kairau Ngahau

I vividly recall how my mother was always telling me how my grandfather, Merito Hetaraka, felt the shame and worthlessness, as he could not fulfil his duties as a Ngati Hokopu leader to ensure the future well-being of his hapu and iwi, as a result of the loss of the 'control' of our confiscated lands.

Patrick Hudson

The report ends with the Tribunal outlining its views on the issues involved in negotiating a settlement and wishing the Crown and claimants a successful resolution to 'this long outstanding problem'.

In settling the claims, regard should be had to the immediate and long-term social impacts on the Ngati Awa people in taking away their proven developmental capacity. It is also pertinent to compare their lot with that of other major descent groups or iwi. In the twentieth century, tribes that retained land would have the benefit of concessionary land development funding. Many that lost large areas of land would have the benefit of preliminary compensation administered through tribal trust boards. Comparatively, assistance for Ngati Awa has been minimal. They had little land to develop and are amongst the few that received no prior compensation.

The Waitangi Tribunal