In the apology Mr Finlayson said Heretaunga Tamatea had been a community of proud and self-sustaining independent hapu that occupied about 1.4 million acres.
In the late 1840s leaders invited the Crown to acquire land in the area with the people's expectation of gaining economic opportunities from European settlement. It notes the Crown agent encouraged customary owners to accept below value.
Just days before the signing in December 1851, Crown officials arranged for a large area to be added to the block, without the knowledge of the occupants.
Throughout the 1850s Crown agents persisted in acquiring land "secretly" in consultations that ignored many customary owners, which Mr Finlayson said were "divisive tactics" creating conflict among hapu and leaders, leading to "war and death".
While Heretaunga Tamatea took internal steps to preserve land, new devices emerged, including the 1865 Native Lands Act, which limited titled ownership to otherwise collectively held land to no more than 10 people, resulting in further divestment, often without knowledge of the shareholders, and often as recourse for indebtedness.
"By 1930, it was a very sad and sorry tale, as I have recounted all too frequently on occasions like this," Mr Finlayson said. "Heretaunga Tamatea were virtually landless.
"During the 20th century, Heretaunga Tamatea hapu and whanau have suffered social, economic, and cultural marginalisation and today more than half of their people live outside their rohe," he said.
Many in the area lived in poverty, he said.
The settlement, resulting from a joining of dozens of claims made to the Waitangi Tribunal, includes a financial package of $100million, plus $5million to assist in the re-establishment of Te Aute College as a national educational institution.
Million-dollar support packages were also planned for 23 marae, with settlement management structure He Toa Takitini taking steps to ensure proper management of the funds.
Chairman David Tipene-Leach said each marae had already been granted $100,000 to form the structure needed to access the funds, which would not be released until after the settlement became an act of Parliament next year.
The settlement includes the purchase of Kaweka and Gwavas Crown Forest land with Ahuriri Hap. Cultural redress such as the vesting of sites, statutory acknowledgments and deeds of recognition over sites of historical, cultural and spiritual significance to Heretaunga Tamatea is also provided.
Mr Finlayson said the settlement could never be enough to satisfy all the grievances, but he said it was hoped it would give the iwi a strong cultural and economic future.
Mr Finlayson said the benefits were across the board, from the recipients to the wider population. He said he often heard from opponents of settlements, who could not see the benefits.
They needed to "get a life", he said.
The settlement, which he said would not have been possible without the work of He Toa Takitini negotiators Liz Monroe, Peter Paku and Brian Morris, was an important part of the settlement of claims across Ngati Kahungunu territory, from Wairoa to Wairarapa.
He hoped to have a similar signing with Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa by the end of the year, and he awaited further information about a recent ratification process conducted by settlement group Mana Ahuriri, before going ahead with another ceremony for Napier and surrounding areas.
It rained at Te Aute as the people were welcomed in an emotional morning powhiri. Among those there were Ikaroa Rawhiti and Napier MPs Meka Whaitiri and Stuart Nash, Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, Hastings-based former Tukituki MP Rick Barker (plus fellow regional and district councillors), Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana, and tribunal member John Clarke, who sat in many hearings in Hawke's Bay and on Saturday was kaikorero for the Crown entourage.
As crowds dispersed in the afternoon the sun was shining.
