Ng¯ati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill
Ng¯ati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill
Ng¯ati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill
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Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>)<br />
<strong>Claims</strong> <strong>Settlement</strong> Preamble<br />
New (unanimous)<br />
was any land owned in that district by those deemed to have<br />
been in rebellion:<br />
(17) The Crown considered the <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong> tribes to have been<br />
in rebellion because <strong>of</strong> the ‘‘resistance’’ to the forces sent into<br />
the area to arrest those responsible for the deaths <strong>of</strong> Fulloon<br />
and others:<br />
The compensation process<br />
(18) The Compensation Court was established under the provisions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the New Zealand <strong>Settlement</strong>s Act 1863 to hear claims<br />
for the return <strong>of</strong> confiscated land. Prior to the sitting <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Compensation Court, Crown Agent John A Wilson was<br />
appointed as a special commissioner in February 1866 to deal<br />
with the allocation <strong>of</strong> confiscated land in the <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>:<br />
(19) Wilson arranged for approximately 87 000 acres <strong>of</strong> confiscated<br />
land between the western confiscation boundary and the<br />
Tarawera River to be divided into blocks. Much <strong>of</strong> this area,<br />
which Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>) and other iwi also<br />
claim, went to certain Te Arawa iwi and others as military<br />
awards. Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>) also lost lands,<br />
which they traditionally held interests in, on the eastern side<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Tarawera River:<br />
(20) The Compensation Court heard evidence from members <strong>of</strong><br />
Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>) in relation to land within<br />
the confiscation boundary on the west side <strong>of</strong> the Tarawera<br />
River. The Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>) claims<br />
recognised by the Court included those for the Tawhitinui<br />
block (6 320 acres) and the Rotoitipaku block (13 675 acres):<br />
(21) In December 1867, the Compensation Court awarded the<br />
Rotoitipaku block to 10 people and the Tawhitinui block to<br />
13 people. These awards were made on the basis that they<br />
were the rightful owners and not implicated in the<br />
‘‘rebellion’’:<br />
(22) Ngāti <strong>Tuwharetoa</strong> (<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong>) viewed the awards <strong>of</strong> these<br />
blocks as a tribal endowment with the named individuals<br />
acting as kaitiaki or trustees for the hapū. However, when the<br />
Compensation Court awards were <strong>of</strong>ficially notified in the<br />
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