Background Historical Background Deed of Settlement Questions and Answers

Historical Background - The Pouakani People The settlement relates to two matters. 1.   Pouakani Historical Claims These concern the operation and impact of the Native Land Court and the Native land laws in the 19th century. Although the Pouakani People wanted to continue administering their own lands and opposed the application of the Native land laws and the jurisdiction of the Native Land Court in their rohe, their wishes went unheeded by the colonial governments. Within 25 years of the Pouakani lands becoming subject to these laws and the jurisdiction of the Court in the mid 1880s, 95% of the Pouakani land (that is, over 40,469 hectares) had been alienated, much of it to pay for unwanted surveys of their land. Today, only 2387 hectares of land is still in Pouakani ownership. 2.    Pouakani Boundary Claims Following a recommendation by a Royal Commission, a boundary line between Pouakani land and a neighbouring Maori land block was established in law by the Native Land Acts Amendment Act of 1889. But the Native Land Court declared in 1891 that the boundary was to the east of that established by the Act. As a result, the Pouakani People lost almost 1700 hectares, and this land was subsequently alienated to the Crown by the new owners. In 1996 the Maori Land Court overturned the 1891 Native Land Court decision by which Pouakani lost almost 1700 hectares that was rightfully theirs. The settlement of the boundary claims settles the rights that the Pouakani People may have had to bring an action based on the loss of this lost land.   PREVIOUS | CONTENTS | NEXT

Executive Homepage | Minister's Homepage