Moehau District: Moehau 1G

appear. I can only surmise that it must have been very roughly estimated at first. Anyhow there is now no Crown Land adjacent which could be given, nor do I see reason for giving it.17

The Registrar of the Native Land Court was then asked for his opinion. He replied that There is no description of boundaries or area given in the minutes except where the order of the Court is made and there the area is stated to be 1856 acres. On the plan before the Court the area

was set out as 1360 acres but the order of the Court for a memorial follows the minutes and in it the area is stated to be 1856 acres. Mr Kensington [Chief Draughtsman, who had replied for the Chief Surveyor] informs me that Mr Mackay the Government Agent had his own surveyor at the Court, a Mr Rowe, who marked off upon the map the different subdivisions as they were awarded by the Court and the figures 1360 on the part called 1G are in Mr Rowe's handwriting.

The whole matter was laid before Chief Judge Davy, who decided that a clerical error had been made by one of the officials of the Court, and altered the area in the order to 1333a 2r op.

To explain these latter figures, I may explain that a Memorial was first issued for 1G showing it to

contain 1360 acres. It was afterwards alleged that this area included Moehau No 1N containing 26a 2r. An inquiry was held and it was found to be so. The first Memorial was therefore cancelled and two issued as follows:

Moehau No 1G   1333a 2r

Moehau No 1N   26a 2r.18

In 1900 Haora Tareranui and 9 others petitioned Parliament about the missing 500 acres. They asked for the 500 acres to be returned to them, and for compensation for both the kauri timber which was cut from the 500 acres and the miner's rights.19 The Government's response, written by the Chief Land Purchase Officer, was a summary of the information it had received in 1897.

In 1878 the Moehau Block containing about 35,000 acres came before the Native Land Court for partition and was subdivided into some 22 blocks. The position of each subdivision was laid down on the map by a surveyor; the areas could, in the absence of surveys, be only roughly calculated.

In the present instance the estimated area exceeds the actual one, as disclosed by subsequent

survey, by some 500 acres, the result, in the opinion of the Chief Judge, of a clerical error.20

The Native Affairs Committee decided to refer the petition to the Government for favourable consideration.21 The Chief Land Purchase Officer noted that

I have nothing further to add to my report of the 13 September 1900. The reserves in Moehau were located by boundaries which at the time were unsurveyed. The area of each reserve could only be roughly computed. In some cases the area was under-computed and in other cases overcomputed.22

17 Chief Surveyor Auckland to Chief Land Purchase Officer, 29 October 1897, on Land Purchase Officer Otorohanga to Chief Land Purchase Officer, 14 October 1897. Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting Papers #C7.125.

18 Registrar Native Land Court Auckland to Chief Land Purchase Officer, 26 November 1897. Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting Papers #C7.126.

19 Petition 392/1900 of Haora Tareranui and 9 others. Copy on Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting Papers #C7.131.

20 Report on Petition 392/1900, 13 September 1900. Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting papers #C7.132.

21 Report of Native Affairs Committee, 6 August 1901. Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting Papers #C7.133. AJHR 1901, 1–3, page 11. Supporting Papers #U24.1.

22 File note by Chief Land Purchase Officer, 30 August 1901, on cover sheet to file CS 1901/2420. Maori Affairs Head Office file 1907/507. Supporting Papers #C7.134.

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