A Lake Okareka lodge owner facing Department of Conservation charges has told a court he believed the land in question belonged to Te Arawa, of which he was a descendant.
Edward James Goldsmith, 41, owns the Black House on the Point with his partner - former Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic netball coach Noeline Taurua.
He has denied two Department of Conservation charges - knowingly and without authority interfering with the natural features of a conservation area and knowingly and without authority erecting a deck on that area.
It's alleged Goldsmith carried out unauthorised excavation and built a deck within the Lake Okareka Marginal Strip, an area of conservation land that runs between his property and the lake, in 2012.
Goldsmith, who is representing himself with the help of Ms Taurua, opened his defence in the Rotorua District Court yesterday afternoon.