Ohinemuri District: Ohinemuri

for these portions rather than have them surveyed. The reserves alone will I expect cost £300 to survey.133

Gill replied

Please do not allow the unsold interests to be surveyed off till further communicated with, it is possible they may be purchased shortly, in which case the surveys will not be required.134

Survey proceeded during 1883 and 1884, and a survey plan was produced.135 This surveyed the subdivisions of the Ohinemuri block ordered in 1880, the Crown awards and the non-sellers' blocks defined in 1882, and the reserves to be set apart out of the Crown awards lands. However, not all subdivisions and awards were able to be surveyed (see below).

Before the survey plan was completed, a difference between the records of the Native Land Court in Auckland and the records of the Native Land Purchase Department in Wellington was identified. When the deed for the purchase by the Crown (see below) of one of the non-sellers' blocks, Ohinemuri 5A, was forwarded to the Trust Commissioner for his certificate in July 1883, he checked with the Registrar of the Native Land Court, who advised that the deed seemed to have been incorrectly prepared, in that it referred to Ohinemuri 5A, when the Court's records showed that the Crown had been awarded Ohinemuri 5A and the non-sellers had been awarded Ohinemuri 5B.136 The matter was referred to Gill, who advised that any reference to the block as Ohinemuri 5B would be a clerical error by the Court. But the Registrar insisted that no mistake had been made. Gill then wrote to the Chief Judge.

Is there any objection to the clarification of these 16 blocks by letters A and B being altered.

Cannot the awards to the Government be known as Blocks 1, 2, etc, without a letter, and the

pieces cut out for the natives be blocks 1A, 2A, 3A, etc. Sixteen deeds of purchase have been

prepared and partially signed describing the native [portions by the letter] A, and these clash

with the [numbers in the Native Land Court] office.137

The Chief Judge agreed to this revised arrangement,138 and the Court records were amended to show the non-sellers blocks as 'A' subdivisions.

A series of tracings and descriptions of the Crown awards were sent to Wellington in mid 1884.139 But four Crown awards were unable to be fully defined. These were Ohinemuri 10,11, 16 and 17, where

the Crown awards depend on the awards to the non-sellers, and as these are only sketched on the plans, it would not be safe to use them without survey. Should the Crown purchase the native awards, then the necessity for survey will disappear.140

133 Chief Surveyor Auckland to Under secretary Native Land Purchase Department, 3 August 1882. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.1.

134 Under Secretary Native Land Purchase Department to Chief Surveyor Auckland, 17 August 1882. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 2889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.2.

135 Hamilton Maori Land plan 3416/4150. Suppoting Papers #N124.

136 Registrar Native Land Court to Trust Commissioner, 26 July 1883. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.21.

137 Under Secretary Native Land Purchase Department to Chief Judge Native Land Court, date not known (after 7 August 1883). Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.22.

138 Under Secretary Native Land Purchase Department to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, date not known (after 7 August 1883). Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.22..

139 Assistant Surveyor General to Under Secretary Native Land Purchase Department, 19 March 1884, 19 June 1884, 20 June 1884 and 28 June 1884. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Suppoting Papers #B69.27, 29, 30 and 36.

140 Assistant Surveyor General to Under Secretary Native Land Purchase Department, 28 June 1884. Maori Affairs Head Office file MLP 1889/268. Supporting Papers #B69.36.

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