(9) Wai 355 and Wai 704: Hikutaia and Whangamata lands

Wai 355 was lodged by Ropata Rare and Ani Wells in April 1993 on behalf of Ngati Pu, concerning the alienation of Hikutaia and Whangamata lands.⁵⁶ The core grievance’ as identified by counsel for the claimants relates to the McCaskill transactions and old land claim, which, it was submitted, has ‘been the subject of relentless complaint, protest and petition by Ngati Pu since the 1850s’.⁵⁷ Other issues of claim relate to the alienation of this and other lands and to the operations of the Native Land Court in particular. Related issues include Crown purchase, survey and other costs, reserves, timber issues, the laws of succession, and public works takings. Other claims relate to rating, gold, the foreshore and rivers, environmental impact, wahi tapu and taonga, and socio-economic factors. Counsel stressed that ‘today the land held by Ngati Pu amounts to approximately 35 hectares’ and that Ngati Pu have suffered social, economic and cultural dislocation and a loss of status.⁵⁸

Wai 704 was lodged by Dianne Chalmers in February 1998 on behalf of her whanau, the descendants of Haki Pene Hura, and his daughter Poihaere Hakipene Hura. The claimants are a whanau of Ngati Pu (numbering over 300 people) and their claim relates to the interests of their tipuna in Ngati Pu land, particularly at Hikutaia and Whangamata, of which ‘All but a miniscule remnant … have now been alienated’.⁵⁹ Counsel for the claimants submitted that the whanau were dislocated from their ancestral lands and, in addition to any economic loss, ‘have experienced an erosion of traditional values and beliefs and have lost their te reo and tikanga’, and are marginalised as a whanau.⁶⁰ The particular issues of claim relate to the sale of Poihaere’s interests in part of these lands while still a minor, and the later alienation of her remaining lands.⁶¹

(10) Wai 418: The Waikawau purchase claim

Wai 418 was lodged by Rikiriki Rakena and others in October 1993 on behalf of members of Ngati Tamatera, with regard to the Waikawau block, including its reserves and wahi tapu.⁶² The claim relies on the submissions of Wai 100 and is described by claimant counsel as forming a discreet case study within the framework presented by the HMTB claim, and as a subset of the wider Ngati Tamatera claims.⁶³ The main issues relate to the Crown purchase

56. Claim 1.14

57. Document Y8, p 2

58. Ibid, pp 46-48. The relevant submissions and evidence in relation to the Wai 355 claim include documents J8, J9, K5-K19, L21-L24, Y8, AA11.

59. Claim 1.30(a), (b); doc Y12, p 2

60. Document Y12, pp 2-3

61. The relevant submissions and evidence in relation to the Wai 704 claim include documents I1, S15, S16, S31, S32, S34, Y12, and AA10.

62. Claim 1.18(a); doc Y3, p 2

63. Document Y3, pp 2, 22. The relevant submissions and evidence in relation to the Wai 418 claim include documents J10-J13, Y3, and AA14. The relevant research reports include documents A8, A10, A13, and J2.