Although Mackay refers to an area of approximately 8 acres as the Huharua reserve, there were in fact three sections of land awarded to Maori. The area Mackay was probably referring to above was lot 214, which was 6 acres. Two other 50 acre reserves were also made; lot 210 and lot 211 (see Figure 3).

Lot 210 was awarded to Pene Taka. This is a point of land on the eastern side of Plummers Point which extends into the Te Puna Estuary. Lot 210 included Te Hopuni pa site, which was marked on the survey plan of the reserve drawn up in 1874 (see Figure 4).¹⁹ It was later discovered that no Crown grant to Pene Taka was actually issued at the time (see section 1.3 below).

A Crown grant for lot 211 was issued on 3 June 1886.²⁰ The grant was made under the Volunteers and Other Lands Act 1877 to the following Maori:

The reserve was a 50 acre strip of land south of lot 210. The grant was backdated to 15 December 1884.

Lot 214 was a 6 acre section which was awarded to Mere Taka.²¹ Interestingly, on a survey plan drawn up in 1886, it was only this section which was marked as a ‘Native Reserve’.²²

None of the Crown grants for the three lots record the hapu or iwi affiliation of the grantee. The identity of those persons named in the Crown grants is a matter that should be addressed by the claimants in their submission to the Tribunal.

Some members of Ngati Rangiwewehi also lived at Huharua. These were Te Arawa who had supported the Kingitanga and fought with Tauranga Maori, unlike other Te

¹⁸ James Mackay Jr ‘Report on the Katikati Purchase and other questions relating to the District of Tauranga, 1867’, in Stokes, 1992, p 116

¹⁹ Plan 423 A

²⁰ Particulars of Title, 13 July 1920, BCAC A187 Box 217 2754 Te Puna Lot 211, National Archives (NA) Auckland

²¹ Particulars of Title, 1908, BCAC A187 Box 215 1909-2 Te Puna Lot 214, NA Auckland

²² SO 5222