Location and Block History

Mangatawa is a hill range that runs in a northerly direction between Rangataua Bay and Papamoa Beach. The current route of State Highway 2 and the East Coast Main Trunk Railway between Mount Maunganui and Te Puke runs close to the northern end of Mangatawa. Although the remains of fortifications are still visible on some points of the hill, the most heavily terraced area was the northern point, known as Maungamana (see Figure One). Very little remains of Maungamana today, as it was used as a quarry by the Ministry of Works. The quarry remains are clearly visible from State Highway 2 (see Figure Nine).

At the base of Mangatawa, adjacent to State Highway 2, is the Tamapahore Marae of Nga Potiki. The land around the marae has been developed for housing for the hapu, and is known as the marae community zone. The offices of the Mangatawa Papamoa Incorporation are also in this zone, as well as a community health clinic (see Figures Two and Three).

Mangatawa hill is surrounded by reasonably flat rural land. This is the Mangatawa Papamoa block, which is today vested in the ‘Proprietors of the Mangatawa Papamoa block’ and administered by the Mangatawa-Papamoa Incorporation.

The Mangatawa Papamoa block is made up of various portions of the Mangatawa block and Papamoa No 2 block. Both these blocks were part of the land returned to Maori after the confiscation of the Tauranga district (see Figure Four). The Mangatawa block was an area of 1,295 acres, the ownership of which was investigated by Commissioner Brabant under the Tauranga District Lands Acts 1867 and 1868.¹ Title to the block was issued in 1878 to 102 owners.² In the early 20^th century Mangatawa block was partitioned into the following areas:³

¹ Brabant, ‘Land Returned to Ngaiterangi Tribe Under Tauranga District Land Acts’, Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHR), 1886, G-10

² Certificate of Title 16/306

³ Areas taken from ML 8133