expectation that the land would not be alienated to a third party. Indeed, such an option, at the time of the tuku, may well have not even been considered: with the introduction of the Native Land Court, the world changed.

By 1868, however, Hauraki Maori were becoming aware that a Native Land Court decision would be likely to lead to alienation. One conclusion that might be made is that with the alienation of any such land, the compact or trust would be broken, and any proceeds should be shared among the original grantors as well as the selling grantees. While this may have been a reasonable possible expectation, the delicacy of the arrangement was not (and perhaps could not be) encapsulated in the Native Land Court process. We cannot say to what extent the court was made aware of the nature of the tuku.

The Tribunal is of the view that a customary tuku probably did not include a right of on-sale to a third party without the permission or participation of the donor - a right that was of course made legally possible by the grant of a certificate of tide. It seems quite clear that the tuku made by Paora Te Putu was (despite the uncertain situation under Riria Karepe in the mid-1860s, but resolved by Rapata Wahawaha) effectively confirmed at subsequent stages, including Riria’s silent consent at the Native Land Court hearings. There may be more to Riria’s silence than acquiescence, but we have no additional information before us on this matter.

For the most part, the land sold at Harataunga was sold by non-residents. The 1899 sales were mainly sold by absentee owners who were sought out by Crown agents in Gisborne and the East Coast. This matter is discussed in section 12.2.3 and chapter 17.

(2) The tuku of Manaia lands to Ngati Pukenga

Ngati Pukenga are of Mataatua origin. We heard evidence that their main genealogical line descends from Toroa, the captain of the Mataatua waka to his daughter, Wairaka, and to her son, Tamatea-ki-te-huatahi. According to the evidence of Lawson Richards, Tamatea’s son, Tanemoeahi, was the older brother of Tuhoe and the father of Pukenga, after whom the tribe was named.¹³² According to the evidence of Buddy Mikaere and Shane Ashby, ‘The generally accepted version of Ngati Pukenga history is that they formerly lived in the Opotiki-Waimana-Whakatane districts centred mostly round Waiaua and Omarumutu’.¹³³ They state that, according to their traditions, ‘Ngati Pukenga moved to the Tauranga district in a series of three heke’. They ‘joined with Ngaiterangi in the invasion of Tauranga Moana … and proceeded on a military campaign to help subjugate the district’.¹³⁴ According to Mikaere and Ashby, towards the end of the eighteenth century, Ngati Pukenga, having fallen out with Ngai Te Rangi, ‘began forming military alliances with the Hauraki tribes, Ngati Maru and Ngati Tamatera in particular, as a means of improving their military strength in

132. Document I11, p 2

133. Document I2, p 7

134. Ibid (also confirmed in Waitangi Tribunal, Te Raupatu o Tauranga Moana, p 29)