Page image
Page image

a.—4

26

(2.) Whether the eastern and southern boundary of the Urewera District Native Reserve, as shown on the plan, from Kahunui to the Waiau River, is an ancient ancestral dividing boundary between the tribe of Ngati Eahungunu on the one side and the tribe of Tuhoe on the other, or whether it is not an ancestral boundary but merely follows the surveyed boundaries of the outside blocks which adjoin the Urewera District Native Reserve on the eastern and southern sides, and have been accordingly adopted as the boundary of the said reserve. We have been informed by the parties appearing before us that the survey of the Tahora Block was made by stealth by Te Tauha, of Opotiki, and Mr. Alma Baker, surveyor, and that when the Tahora case was heard by the Native Land Court at Opotiki the claim of the people by whom the said survey had been made was disallowed, and the whole of the land awarded to Wi Pere and his hapus and the persons adjudged to be the owners of the land. We are consequently of opinion that the said eastern boundary of this Urewera Reserve is not an ancient ancestral boundary. At the time of the hearing of the Tahora Block in the Native Laud Court, a case was set up by certain persons of Tuhoe Tribe claiming within the Tahora Block, and evidence was given as to the boundaries between Tuhoe and Ngati Kahungunu, ami alleging conquest by Tuhoe, and the Court in its decision dismissed this Tuhoe case. Subsequently to that decision a rehearing of the Tahora Block was held by the Native Land Court, as between the hapus of the Ngati Kahungunu Tribe residing at Gisborne and Te Wairoa, but Tuhoe set up no case at the said rehearing. During that rehearing the great dividing boundary between Ngati Kahungunu and Tuhoe was stated, one of the principal proofs alleged in support of the said boundary being the carved post erected by Paora Kingi, a chief of the Tuhoe tribe—that is to say, of the hapus owning the lands contained within the Maungapohatu and Tauranga Blocks. This post was erected at Paharnkeke, and was named Te Koari, the name of the father of Wi Tipuna of the Ngati Kahungunu Tribe, and a number of witnesses in the Tahora cast stated that this post was set up for the purpose of marking the boundary, ' and that the place at which it was erected was Paharakeke, which is shown in the plan of Maungapohatu Block. Numia Kereru, however, and the Tuhoe people appearing before this present Commission state that this post is the resting-place or depository of the umbilical cord of the daughter of Paora Kingi, whose name was Parekaramu. Such may possibly be the case: but if so, why should the post have been taken all that distance away and erected at that place (Paharakeke) instead of being set up in the immediate neighbourhood of the pas where the people lived? In regard to that portion of the boundary of the Urewera Reserve extending south from the Tahora Block to the Waiau River —viz., down to the boundary-line of the Maungataniwha Block— we are of opinion that the whole of that portion as shown in the plan is not an ancestral boundary. We are, for instance, informed by witnesses that those lands came to be surveyed because of the sales of land by Ngati Kahungunu to the Crown in former days, and that portions of this Urewera Reserve were included in the said sales to the Crown. We are also informed that a portion of the Waipaoa Block, named Rapurapua, and that portion of Te Papuni alleged to belong to Ngati Hingaanga llapu, are within the boundary of the Urewera Reserve, and we have no hesitation in stating our opinion that the said eastern and southern boundary-lines of this reserve as shown in the plan are not a tribal boundary, nor are they an ancestral boundary. For the reasons above given, and from the evidence submitted to us at Te Wairoa, we were able to state the main dividing tribal boundary between the Tuhoe and Ngati Kahungunu Tribes which we have described in our recommendations in regard to the Waikaremoana cases. The boundary given by Wi Pere and party commences at Ngapukeriki, a hill on the main watershed range, which range it follows to Te Ranga-a-Kapua Mountain, the boundary running on the eastern side of the said mountain, and on from there to Paharakeke, where the carved post " Te Koari" stood, from there to the source of the Hopuruahine Stream, thence to source of Orangitutaetutu Stream, thence along the main watershed range of Iluiarau, which it follows on to the Waiau River opposite to Maungataniwha Mountain. That is to say, this boundary follows along the main watershed mountain-range, and they — i.e., Wi Pere and party —allege that this is the true dividing tribal boundary between Tuhoe on the northern and western side and Ngati Kahungunu on the southern and eastern side. Te Wharau Tapuae, one of the Tuhoe witnesses, stated that the boundary between Tuhoe and Ngati Kahungunu commences at the mouth of the Okauia Stream, ascends the Taumataroa Hill, runs along Pukaitangaroa Ridge—the watershed range which divides the streams running down towards the coast on the one side from those which run down on the Hangaroa side. This part of his evidence supports the statement that the dividing tribal boundary runs along the main watershed range. Numia Kereru in his evidence stated that he admitted the boundary given by Wi Pere as far as Huiarau, but stated that that part only of his (Wi Pew's , ) boundary was correct. He (Numia) asserts that the boundary runs down from Huiarau Range to the Orangihikoia Stream, which it follows to Orangitutaetutu Stream, down which it runs to Hopuruahine Stream to Te Pohue. otherwise called Taita-a-Makoro, thenoe easterly to Ngatapa, thence to Manuoha, a hill (Wi Pere points out a different " Manuoha " at another place), thence to Kopuapounamu Stream, thence to Makahikatoa Stream, Mangatoetoe Stream, Owhakatoro Stream, Tupuni Stream, Anini Stream, a, stream running easterly, Rangitata Stream. " This boundary which Tam giving," says Numia. " crosses the various streams I have mentioned, and reaches Stream. This part of the boundary is at Maungapohatu Mountain, between Maungapohatu and Tauranga Blocks, and this is the ancient ancestral boundary, -the dividing tribal boundary between the Urewera and Ngati Kahunjrunu Tribes." We will here recite the boundary given by Eria Tutarakauika —a man of Ngati Kahungunu Tribe, a descendant of the ancestor Hingaanga, and also a member of the Tuhoe Tribe by another line of descent—at the previous Commission. This man set up a claim under his Ngati Kahungunu rights, in the year 1901, to the southern and eastern portion of Maungapohatu and Tauranga

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert