Motukawaiti is now owned by an unnamed New Zealand family. Photo / Supplied
The idyllic Northland island taken over by squatters has sold after the $22 million price tag was dropped - and the new mystery owner has spoken of his plans for the remote slice of paradise.
Motukawaiti is now owned by an unnamed New Zealand family - dashing the hopes of some in Ngati Kura who had hoped the Crown would buy and landbank the island with which it shares 900 years of history.
To those surveying the sea from the headland above Matauri Bay, Motukawaiti will remain the odd one out - the only one of 17 in the Cavalli Islands group to be privately owned.
The sale follows the island's abandonment by its Chinese owner years ago. It became a getaway for local youths who took over the sprawling mansion intended to be the centrepiece of a Northland resort.
The stylish home, staff cottage and surrounds were ravaged by theft and vandalism.
The property transfer documents show it changed hands on May 30. Its new owner is a trustee company and the only names linked to the sale were staff at law firm Dentons Kensington Swan.
For Ngati Kura kaumatua Dover Samuels, it's an unwelcome and familiar development. He said he was troubled there seemed to be "no communication and no respect and no intention from the buyer to have anything to do with the hapu".
"We've reached out and asked the real estate agent, 'who are these new owners?'. With the previous owner it was all smoke and mirrors. We were only dealing with phantoms."
Samuels, a former Labour Party Cabinet minister, said Motukawaiti should have been landbanked against future Treaty of Waitangi settlements. He said he had lobbied Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis, also Minister of Māori Crown Relations, and Minister of Treaty Settlements, Andrew Little.
Minister for Treaty Settlements Andrew Little said the Crown could buy land for later use in Treaty settlements but only in certain circumstances. He said private land would not be used to settle Treaty claims.
Davis said: "While I'd love all former Maori land that was taken to be returned wherever appropriate, this isn't always possible.
"I understand the history behind the ownership of Motukawaiti to be murky, but it is not for me to judge whether a claim is valid or not."
An inquiry report by historian Anthony Patete recorded the island sold out of communal ownership to settler and farmer George Hows in 1912 in a deal not put before all of Ngati Kura. Some people, like kaumatua Nau Epiha, believe Hows only ever leased the land.
In the mid-1990s it almost returned to Ngati Kura when it was bought by a hapu trust for $500,000. A challenge in the Maori Land Court found the purchase outside the trust's rules and a forced sale followed. It was one of a number of business deals at the time that caused a rift in the hapu.
Since then, Motukawaiti's value spiralled as high as the $22m asking price attached to it last year. It was a price tag dropped after a lack of interest and the Herald understands it eventually sold for much less.
The unnamed father of the family who bought the island hoped to develop a friendship with Ngati Kura and looked forward to being part of the local community.
The family was described as having "lived in New Zealand for some years" but did not require Overseas Investment Office permission to buy the island. The past owner's possession of the island sparked an OIO inquiry.
The father said the family "very much admires kaitiakitanga", the principle of guardianship, and planned to restore the island to its "natural beauty" through pest eradication and planting. The family would seek Ngati Kura's guidance over planting, he said.
The man said the family also wanted to protect the marine ecology around the island and would work with Ngati Kura to help that happen.
"And just as the development and operation of Kauri Cliffs has engaged local people in jobs, he is hopeful that there will be an interest in helping make the island habitable again."
