21 December 2012

Historic $20 million Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Deed of Settlement to be signed today (Friday 21 December) at Waikawa Marae, Picton

A new era begins for Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui today with the signing of their historic Te Tiriti o Waitangi Deed of Settlement at a ceremony at Waikawa Marae, Picton, at 3pm.

The $20 million settlement with the Crown includes a package of returned land, commercial property – such as local schools and other government-owned properties – important cultural redress and a $11.3million cash component.

The Deed of Settlement will be signed on behalf of the Crown by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Christopher Finlayson, and on behalf of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui by its Trustees: Glenice Paine (Chair), Ronald Riwaka (Deputy Chair), Cindy Batt, Vennessa Ede, John Katene, Jon McGregor, William Reeves, Te Hawe Ruru, Ngawaina Shorrock and Neville Watson Tahuaroa.

History of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui claim

Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui are the people of Te tiawa descent who whakapapa to Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui (the top of the South Island).

They originated from the Taranaki region, but by the 1830s were firmly based throughout the top of the South Island. By 1840 – when Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Tōtaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound) - they were a dynamic and robust society with their own lands and cultural customs that regulated their life both on land and at sea.

The arrival of the New Zealand Company adversely affected Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui. Further, the Crown – under the leadership of Governor Grey – acquired much of the tribe’s land, with rangatira coerced into accepting minimal payment.

Within three decades of Te Ātiawa rangatira signing Te Tiriti, extensive Crown purchases in Te Tau Ihu had left Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui virtually landless.

Further encroachment of remaining Te Ātiawa land happening at the end of the 19th Century and throughout the 20th Century when land – particularly near Waikawa reserve - was taken by the Crown for public works.

The loss of land had a detrimental effect on the spiritual, economic and cultural wellbeing of Te Ātiawa as an Iwi.

Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui first lodged their claim with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1996. Since then almost two generations of Te Ātiawa whānui have worked to right the breaches of the obligations the Crown took towards all Māori through Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

In its apology to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, the Crown says: “Through this apology the Crown seeks to atone for these wrongs and hopes that this settlement will mark the beginning of a new relationship with Te Ātiawa based on the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.”

Settlement package

The settlement package will be made up of returned land, commercial property; such as local schools and other government-owned properties along with important cultural redress components.

The Deed of Settlement package includes the following:

Te Ātiawa has secured:

- 100% ownership of the Queen Charlotte Forest in Tory Channel, excluding 16 ha
-
- 100% of the Rai Valley Forest from Havelock to Whangamoa
-
- 100% of the Golden Downs West 14
-
- 50% of the Upper Motueka West 11 Forest
-
- 50% of the Golden Downs 12
-
- 33.3% of the Motueka 16 and 17 Forests.
-
-
This land has a total value of approximately $6million.

Properties on Settlement:

- Army Drill Hall – Nelson
-
- Picton Police Station
-
- Motueka Department of Conservation building
-
- Golden Bay High School shared 50% with Ngāti Tama.
-
-
Cultural redress:

- Kaitiaki (guardianship) of Queen Charlotte Sound conservation
-
The Crown will acknowledge the role of Te Ātiawa as kaitiaki (guardian) over the coastal marine area in the Queen Charlotte Sound, including Pickersgill Island, Blumine Island, Allports Island, Mabel Island and Amerikiwhati Island.

Te Ātiawa will prepare a kaitiaki plan setting out its values in relation to the coastal marine area in the Queen Charlotte Sound, for the Marlborough District Council to treat as a Resource Management Act 1991 planning document.

- Kahu Kiwi overlay classification (cultural protection)
-
The Crown will acknowledge Te Ātiawa values in relation to each of the following sites:

• East Head, Arapaoa Island
•
• Waikoropupū Springs Scenic Reserve (shared with Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Rārua)
•
• Farewell Spit Nature Reserve (shared with Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Rārua)
•
• The Brothers Islands (shared with Ngāti Toa)
•
• Heaphy Track (the northern portion) (shared with Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Apa).
•
•
- Special Redress Waikawa Bay
-
The Crown is to offer advice and expertise to Te Ātiawa to undertake a scoping study on options to improve the quality of the marine environment in Waikawa Bay, to specified standards such as those suitable for bathing and shellfish gathering.

- New and Altered names
-
The settlement legislation will alter the geographic names, including the following:

Existing geographic names Altered geographic name

Queen Charlotte Sound (Tōtaranui) Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui

Separation Point Separation Point / Te Matau

Mount Campbell Mount Pukeone / Mount Campbell

Pickersgill Island Matapara / Pickersgill Island

Mount Robertson Mount Tokomaru / Mount Robertson

Tory Channel Tory Channel / Kura Te Au

Arapawa Island Arapaoa Island

Riwaka River Riuwaka River

ends

© Scoop Media