In 1906, Ema Lipsey died and George Lipsey and Ani Edwards (nee Lipsey) became executors and trustees of her estate. In another four transactions, a total of about 98 acres was sold in 1907, some to meet Ema’s debts and some sold by Akuhata to cover his debts. By the end of 1907, of the total 400 acres in section 17, over 167 acres had been purchased by the Crown. From 1910 to 1916, in several separate transactions, the rest of section 17 was sold to the Crown (with the exception of George Lipsey’s homestead and about two acres on which the Edwards homestead was built and was later declared general land). Ema Lipsey had left a will which protected the interests of her younger children and grandchildren. Some doubt arose over whether George Lipsey and Ani Edwards had power to sell when further sales to the Crown were negotiated in 1910. This problem was resolved in section 13 of the Native Land Claims Adjustment Act 1911 which over rode the provisions of Ema’s will and empowered the two trustees, with the consent of other beneficiaries of the will, to transfer the title of the land to the Crown, validated previous transactions and permitted subsequent transfers to the Crown in 1915 and 1916.⁶¹

19.6 THE 'AGREEMENT' ON ACCESS TO THE HOT SPRINGS

No documentation for a specific agreement between Maori and the Crown, nor any Government official’s promise about continuing Maori use of the hot springs after the sale of the Te Aroha block, has been found. However, an early local history suggests that both Maori and Pakeha in Te Aroha believed there was one:

Old settlers say that the springs were highly valued by the Maoris. From every part of the [Thames] Valley, and even from far-away Coromandel they came to bathe, and in the comforting pools old warriors, stiffened with age or rheumatism, might be seen soaking themselves all day long. When at length the Springs were handed over to the State, it was especially provided that a certain valued bath should be reserved for the use of the Maoris.⁶²

There is documentation, however, that Maori were complaining about loss of free access to the springs soon after the establishment of the Te Aroha Hot Springs Domain. On 12 February 1885, Pepene raised the issue of the Te Aroha hot springs with the Native Minister, John Ballance, at a meeting with ‘Hauraki Natives’ at Parawai, Thames. The minutes recorded:

He complains that they are charged when they go to bathe there. If this regulation is allowed to exist it is really overriding the original agreement that they had with the

61.Details of all these transactions are set out in document GI, pp 48-84.

62.Te Aroha News, p 273