Patangata in Central Hawke's Bay.
He Toa Takitini, the group representing the people of Heretaunga Tamatea in Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, is on the verge of shaking off the shackles of the past and moving its people onward and upward.
The group recently signed a deed of settlement for a long list of historical grievances that left its people virtually landless, with a Crown offer of $105million.
"It is a miniscule payment in the big picture of loss," said lead negotiator Liz Munroe, but adding it was the fourth-largest settlement so far and "we can be pleased with the Crown offer".
"We are only one component part of the Ngati Kahungunu settlement. In total the iwi will receive more than $360million."
Ms Munroe said exciting times were ahead as the offer would help move the people into a new era where they could take control of their own destiny.
A decade after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed an invitation was extended in good faith by Ngati Kahungunu chiefs for Pakeha settlement. In return what was offered was a promise of economic and social development.
However, what eventuated in the years to follow was instead a massive land grab. Manipulative and secretive Crown land purchases were followed by a Native Land Court designed to break down communal ownership structures around land and alienate it into settler ownership.
Thirty years after the invitation to Pakeha was extended, almost all Maori land in Heretaunga Tamatea had been alienated, declining from 1.425 million acres (580,000ha) to only 88,000 acres (36,000ha).
The devastating loss of land led to tribal disarray and social structure breakdown of a once-thriving, self-sufficient community. The flow-on effect to today has left an economically deprived people that have poor health and education statistics and the highest imprisonment rates in the country.
Ms Munroe said it had been a difficult journey but a journey that was bringing a good result.
"The biggest difficulty has been the weight carried by our elders and past generations for so many years, and our younger generations, too, who have never quite belonged because of urbanisation."
But the group had big plans ahead for new investments in the Hawke's Bay region and innovative investment directly into marae and hapu.
As part of the settlement Maori place names of sites like Te Kauwae a Maui (Cape Kidnappers) will become recognised. Those names have already been agreed to by the NZ National Geographic Board.
Maori boarding school Te Aute College will also receive a direct contribution from the Crown via He Toa Takitini of $5million to the sustainable future of the school.
The Te Aute site was originally gifted by Te Hapuku, Renata Pukututu and other rangatira (Maori leaders) to the Crown for a school that would educate their children.
However, a long history of the land being onsold, passed on to the Anglican Church and parts perpetually leased to settlers were major grievances in the eyes of the gifting rangatira. The movers and shakers of Te Aute College will decide how best to use the money when the time comes.
Currently about 7000 people are registered with He Toa Takitini, which estimates that to be about 25 per cent of the Heretaunga Tamatea population. The group is looking for more registration and participation from whanau and is encouraging as many descendants as possible to get involved.