This district is of considerable area, there are probably 40,000 acres of unsold land in it. The extent of land available for settlement is small. Gold has been found in two places, but the workings are now abandoned. Nearly the whole of the land has been granted to the Native owners under the Native Lands Act, and the available kauri timber has been sold to either the Mercury Bay Sawmill Company or the Auckland Sawmill Company, who have valid leases or agreements extending over terms of years. I do not anticipate any great difficulty in procuring the freehold of this district. The Government have previously acquired some large blocks there, but which are of little value for settlement.17
In June 1872 Mackay reported that
Adjoining the Waikawau block on the north eastern side is a piece of Government land known as Mahakirau, on which gold in small quantities has been found. This commences on the watershed range and extends towards Mercury Bay, but it is cut off from coast frontage by Te Weiti and Kaimarama blocks. Te Weiti and Kaimarama blocks have been granted under the Native Lands Act ... I was offered 4000 acres of Te Weiti block ... which I accepted.18
Mackay's interest must have spread beyond Te Weiti, as in August 1874 the Crown purchased the freehold of a portion of Kaimarama for £400.19 This portion, to the south of the Mercury
Bay Sawmill Company's portion, had an estimated area of 6700 acres, which meant the
purchase price was about 1/2d per acre. This price was low because of the existence of the timber leases over the land. The owners agreed to "convey and assure" the land "together with
all the rights and appurtenances thereunto belonging ... for ever". James Preece was the interpreter when the signatures of Maihi Te Hinaki and Wiremu Ngawhare Te Hinaki were obtained, while John Guilding was the interpreter when the signatures of Hera Puna and Ngakapa Whanaunga were obtained.
The plans attached to the two deeds of sale of the freehold, to the Mercury Bay Timber Co Ltd and to the Crown, show that there was a slight overlap, as the division line between the two is not the same on each deed.
The portion of Kaimarama purchased by the Crown was declared Waste Lands of the Crown in July 1879.20
17J Mackay, Auckland, to Minister of Public Works, 24 January 1872. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1885/18. Supporting Papers #B54.1–26.
21