THE CROWN, THE TREATY, AND THE HAURAKI TRIBES, 1880-1980

In general, the pace of acquisition had slowed in the 188os. After the transfer of the freehold of much of Ohinemuri into the hands of the Crown, immediate interest in the Hauraki area declined, and the efforts of the Native Land Purchase Department were directed largely to the completion of the outstanding purchases of Mackay—in particular, that of Piako. In part, this slow down in the pace of alienation reflected the continuing hold up in that area, and in part, the simple fact that other than the Hauraki Plains, most of the Maori landed estate had gone. But, in part, too, awareness that Hauraki Maori had little land left, north of the Waihou River, and fear of the burden that might be placed on the state by the growing number of landless Maori in the North Island, meant that administrations of the 188os were generally reluctant to remove restrictions on alienation. Ballance's search for a compromise between Maori landownership and settlement, and the hiatus created by the Native Lands Administration Act slowed sale also. On the other hand, initiatives in purchasing being directed to the acquisition of some of the most valuable of the peninsula lands left to the Hauraki people—particularly those blocks still generating gold field revenues and the mineral springs land—and the last region to be kept closed to the Native Land Court, were all the more destructive to their well-being.

Any respite was short-lived. The reintroduction by the Atkinson Government of direct purchase and free trade in individualised title, and the loosening of restrictions on alienation of reserved land under the Native Land Act 1888, inaugurated a period of further 'onslaught' on Maori land. The Land Purchase Department had been waiting its opportunity at Piako, determined to see a return for its downpayments even though these had been given with little respect for the tribal and political complexities of the area, or for the rights of non-selling groups. The pace of acquisition once again gathered after the breaking of the deadlock there. The search for a means of establishing tribal controls proved fruitless and the destructive processes generated within the land court when issues of colour of right were bitterly fought over, continued unchecked. The inequitable weighting of the burden of costs in establishing title, most especially survey, also remained unchanged under the Liberal Government which introduced new policies designed to promote settlement in the early 189os. Furthermore, there was growing interest in the potential of the Hauraki Plains for dairy farming, and the transfer of the last sizeable lands of the Hauraki people was to be sustained in the early twentieth century by technological advances which allowed for the draining of the swamps. Despite efforts on the part of Hauraki leadership on a national level to stop further selling at a local level, Maori land holdings were to be rapidly whittled away. Most land selling took place in the delta area but the loosening of statutory and administrative protections on alienation of reserved lands meant that in the peninsula, too, Maori holdings steadily declined. These developments will be discussed in the following chapters.

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