Ng¯ati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill

Ngāti Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty)
Claims Settlement Preamble
Struck out (unanimous)
December 1882 objecting to the sale. The Crown applied to
the Native Land Court to have its interest in the block
declared. During the Native Land Court hearing some nonselling
grantees opposed the land being sold without the consent
of all 10 of the grantees and the backing of their hapū.
Despite their objections the Court awarded the southern half
of Rotoitipaku to the Crown on 25 June 1883. There was no
provision for reserves within the section of Rotoitipaku
awarded to the Crown. Members of Ngati Tuwharetoa wrote
to the Minister of Native Affairs on 25 June 1883, outlining
the objections of some Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Umutahi
to the sale and asking to be allowed to return the money
advanced by the Government.
(32) The loss of their traditional lands through confiscation, Crown
purchases and other alienations under the native land laws has
impacted on the access of Ngati Tuwharetoa to resources such
as the coast and the swamp that traditionally provided food,
medicine, and shelter. They also lost control over some of
their urupā and significant sites. Ngati Tuwharetoa state that
this has had an ongoing impact on the spiritual and physical
relationship of the iwi with the land.
20th century developments
(33) From the early 1890s onwards attempts were made by
settlers, with the sanction of the Government, to drain the
Rangitaiki swamp area to make it more suitable for farming.
The Government took over the local land drainage scheme in
1910 and in 1914 a channel was cut to provide the Rangitaiki
River with a direct route to the sea. The physical characteristics
of these wetlands were significantly altered by the drainage
and river diversion scheme and this affected Ngati
Tuwharetoa wāhi tapu and traditional gathering areas for food
and other resources.
(34) In the 1950s the Kawerau township and pulp and paper mill
were established above the settlement of Ngati Tuwharetoa.
These developments resulted in the pollution and degradation
of the Tarawera River (which was a valuable food and water
resource for Ngati Tuwharetoa) and the Ōkākāru area (which
Ngati Tuwharetoa hold to be a historically significant area for
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