They provided no explanation of why this had not been done before, although the circumstances suggest that Mere Taka did not hold other Maori land interests.
The President of the Waiariki Maori Land Board, H.F. Ayson, also noted that no explanation had been given of the long delay in completing the alienation, but agreed that if five percent interest was paid on the purchase price from 1912, then he would confirm the sale. He also pointed out that the successors to Mere Taka were probably under the impression that she had been paid at the time of the sale, and that they should be informed of the situation and make an application for succession to the Native Land Court.
The solicitors paid the interest in May 1920 and informed the probable successors, as required by Ayson. As a result, Ayson signed the certificate confirming the sale on 16 July 1920.56
1.4 CONTROL, MANAGEMENT AND ACCESS TO HUHARUA
The Crown’s ‘purchase’ of the Katikati Te Puna block alienated Maori from their villages and pa at Huharua. Only one of the three pa sites was included in the lots awarded to Maori, that is Te Hopuni which was on lot 210. Control of this pa was then lost in 1915 when it was sold to T. Plummer.
A survey plan drawn in 1886 shows three sites marked ‘native village’, none of which were on lot 210, 211 or lot 214 (see Figure 5).57 The northern point of the land was lot 225 which included a native village on the eastern side. This lot was also the site of Huharua pa. The section was sold by the Crown to private settlers. The area acquired the name of ‘Plummers Point’ because the point was owned and dominated for a number of years at the beginning of the century by the Plummer family. The impact of Plummer’s ownership of Huharua and control of associated wahi tapu is discussed below. Another two native villages were marked within lot 224, one close to the northern boundary with lot 225, and one straddling the southern boundary with lot 223. These lots were also sold by the Crown to private settlers. It is possible that at the time the map was drawn up, Maori were continuing to live in these villages rather than on the reserves they had been allocated.
As the Crown sold the land in lots, Maori lost the land they had been living on and any chance of involvement in the management of that land. The process of creating Pakeha farm settlements on Plummers Point meant that Maori were denied control, management and access to the land. This meant they became powerless to prevent the wahi tapu from being desecrated.
The following episode is a good example of the Crown’s failure to allow Maori control of land that had considerable traditional and spiritual significance. The issue
55 Acting Registrar to Urquhart & Roe, 15 April 1920, BCAC A187 Box 215 1909-2 Te Puna Lot 214, NA Auckland
56 Certificate of Confirmation under 1909/219 and Native Land Amendment Act 1913, 16 July 1920, BCAC A187 Box 215 1909-2 Te Puna Lot 214, NA Auckland
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