The road to Pipiwai is signposted with the sites of the many homes within the community that were destroyed by the Crown in recent times.
“I witnessed families being thrown out of their homes. I saw them going to live in milking sheds and moving away to the cities because they had no abode here and weren't allowed to build housing here,” says Te Waihoroi Shortland.
For the first time within the community, health legislations were used to turf the resident family out after they had contracted typhoid. Claimants suspect it was all a strategy by the Government to separate the people from their lands.
“I can't see any new homes standing, and the families moved away to the city leaving their unoccupied farms with no homes. That's one of the real issues and travesties for the families here,” says Harris Shortland.
With over fifty claims to be heard this week Ngāti Hine are calling for a full enquiry with specific findings for each and every breach. Although that may be a burden for the Waitangi Tribunal to carry, the claimants maintain that it's not a burden if you’re speaking the truth.
At this hearing there is a real emphasis on correcting the wrongs of the past.