A property next to the historical Rangiriri battlefield and last owned by Waikato on the day of the Rangiriri invasion by the Crown November 20, 1863, has been bought by a Ngāti Naho whānau.
"Today is the manifestation of the Waikato adage: 'As land was taken, land must be returned,' Tainui leader Brad Totorewa said. "This very principle is written in the 1995 Waikato-Tainui Deed of Settlement used to seek compensation."
Quick thinking to rally whānau together led to the successful purchase of the property. Te Ao Marama understands the Te Wharepu Rd, Rangiriri property holds great significance to the people of Ngaati Naho and Tainui. The recent government valuation of the property was $1.12 million.
"We have waited for 158 years for this opportunity; for the Ngaati Naho Paa, Te Maataarae ki Rangiriri (the spur of Rangiriri). Today we cry a well-spring of tears as we gaze across the extraordinary landscape our tūpuna recrafted, a feat of selflessness that guaranteed our survival. We are humbled to have had the support, advice, and advocacy of our friends, extended whānau, Maurea Marae and Waikato-Tainui."
Purchase deal
A Facebook post calling for recommendations to work with a Māori mortgage and insurance adviser led to Totorewa teaming up with former NZ Māori Rugby legend Rua Tipoki. Rua is a mortgage and insurance expert for Vega Lend and specialises in bank finance for property investors and first home buyers.
"Our heartfelt thanks go out to our mortgage broker, Rua Tipoki, who had sleepless nights trying to find the right bank that would lend, and our solicitor Maurice Turketo. The home will be used as an administrational hub for our local hapū entities."
On March 23 this year Totorewa was notified by the property owner of his intent to sell. The property went up for sale on May 25 and offers closed on May 28.
In an attempt to find a solution to buy the property for the Iwi a decision was made to make a bid or face losing the purchase of the pā site outside the treaty settlement process. Whānau discussions included the potential mortgaging of their whānau homestead property in Huntly.
Small whānau
"This purchase is significant and achieved by a small whānau outside the Historical Treaty of Waitangi claims process. We put everything we owned on the line, including our parents' homestead, to have the whenua return to our people, our future generations."
In 1995 the prime minister of the time, Jim Bolger, and the late Māori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu signed Waikato-Tainui's deed of settlement. This reflected the confiscation of lands. The claim was settled with a package worth $170 million, in a mixture of cash and Crown-owned land. The package is now worth over $1 billion.
Te Ao Marama requested an interview with Waikato-Tainui regarding the tribe's decision to decline the offer to buy. No answer had been received at publication time