Shelly Bay has divided an iwi, caught the eye of a famous filmmaker, and launched a mayoral campaign, but finally, after 16 months, a land occupation there has come to an end.
The prime real estate on Wellington's Miramar Peninsula is earmarked for a $500 million development, featuring 350 new homes, a boutique hotel, and a village green.
The plan has been bogged down in legal challenges and disputes since its conception, making it one of the capital's most controversial issues.
Many in Wellington have felt entitled to have some sort of say in what has gone on at Shelly Bay, however members of Taranaki Whānui are the ones who are actually at the heart of this matter.
How did the land occupation start?
The land has been occupied since November 2020 by a group called Mau Whenua. Its membership is made up of some Taranaki Whānui members and those who are opposed to the development.
The group claims the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST) went against the will of its own people when it sold its land at Shelly Bay for development and that the deal was done in secret.
PNBST was established to receive and manage the Treaty settlement package for Taranaki Whānui.
The trust used about half of its $25 million settlement money to buy land at Shelly Bay. The iwi was asset rich, but cash poor.
Three parcels of land the trust owned were later sold for $2 million in 2017, a fraction of the original cost. A fourth parcel was later sold for $10 million.
After several legal battles, the event that triggered the occupation was a Wellington City Council vote on whether to sell and lease land it owned at Shelly Bay to make way for the development.
The decision to sell passed by nine votes to six.
Mau Whenua warned councillors their Ihumātao moment had come and less than two weeks later the land occupation at Shelly Bay began.
What has changed?
In December last year Kara Puketapu-Dentice was elected as chairman of PNBST.
Trustee positions are held for a three-year-term.
Puketapu-Dentice has held various senior roles in the public service and private sector, which have focused on improving outcomes for Māori.
Puketapu-Dentice and Shamia Makarini, a member of Mau Whenua, agreed the election brought a change in personalities that started a new chapter between the parties.
The pair had a pre-standing relationship, Puketapu-Dentice said.
"So, I was able to connect with her, and engage with her, and then through her create a sense of mutual trust between us."
Puketapu-Dentice also felt there was a desire from Mau Whenua to reach a point of resolution.
"In being able to recognise that while we're sitting here, having a bit of a tussle among ourselves, there are bigger issues out there for us that need our full attention and require our unity."
Makarini said while Mau Whenua has always been open to talking, PNBST notably changed its approach when there was a change in leadership.
"There was no adversarial or aggressive approach happening, it was very much done in line with tikanga. It was done with good will, and a solutions-focused approach, and with the view of benefiting our people."
Makarini said it was easy to see both parties wanted the same thing.
Mau Whenua members were cautious, but hopeful. Their korero remained away from the public eye.
What did the parties agree on?
Last month Mau Whenua held an open day at Shelly Bay to provide an update on the discussion between the two parties.
It was revealed the trust had committed to the principle of holding onto significant land within its tribal area as a key pillar in its revised strategic plan.
This was seen as a return to the vision and kaupapa of the iwi's old people, or elders, which was getting their land back for generations to come.
While Shelly Bay has been Mau Whenua's physical platform, the group's kaupapa was about all of the iwi's land, Makarini said.
A lot of what Mau Whenua has been fighting for was therefore realised.
Puketapu-Dentice said holding onto their whenua has always been implicit for Māori, but not necessarily explicit.
Incorporating that kaupapa into the trust's strategic plan provided a level of certainty, he said.
"Something that our people can hold us as trustees to account for."
Puketapu-Dentice said the hope was that Mau Whenua will eventually be no more, but instead those involved will be active members of the tribe providing their support or their challenge on issues.
The saga has gone on for too long, he said.
"It has distracted us, it has been the thing that has polarised us, and it has been the thing that we have been known for. Some days I have wondered whether we should just change our name to Ngāti Shelly Bay because that's what everyone thinks, right?"
"Now we can breathe and we are no longer Ngāti Shelly Bay, we are Taranaki Whānui."
Is the fight over then?
Mau Whenua has been clear the group has not given up on its fight for the land and will not be withdrawing its claim currently before the Māori Land Court.
Makarini said although Mau Whenua have physically left the site, they don't consider that as leaving the land.
A mouri stone laid at Shelly Bay as part of a healing and unification process for the iwi also signified Mau Whenua's kaupapa remained there, she said.
Mau Whenua's position remains unchanged that the sale of land to The Wellington Company for development was invalid.
Protest action will continue against the development, but might look different from the occupation, which had served its purpose, Makarini said.
"We have to operate effectively and strategically in that site."
She said Mau Whenua was not anti-development, it just needed to be the right development that met the needs of iwi and the community.
Meanwhile, the trust remains a partner in the proposed development and has resolved to support it.
"We see it not only as a necessary thing for us to continue to be a part of, but actually an opportunity for us to grow from," Puketapu-Dentice said.
He wanted to make clear the sale of land at Shelly Bay was a "land for land" type arrangement.
The sale enabled the trust to purchase other portions of land in central Wellington, property that is now leased to the Crown, he said.
But Puketapu-Dentice also said he will always defend a person's right to put forward a legal challenge and that should be anticipated when in governance roles.
What does this mean for the development?
Puketapu-Dentice said he was fairly confident members of Mau Whenua will not be standing in front of diggers when development work starts.
He said it was important communication remained open and lawyers did not dictate the nature of their relationship, should they become involved.
"It's just like any relationship- there are things that we agree on and there are things that we don't agree on. I think there's strength within the relationship for us to be able to navigate whatever that process might unravel."
Puketapu-Dentice acknowledged other groups might physically attempt to stop the development or occupy the land.
That will be managed swiftly as required, he said.
When asked whether Mau Whenua members will physically try and stop the development on site, Makarini said they had not made any plans yet.
"Whatever we think is the most effective way to oppose the development, I'm sure will be undertaken."
The end of Mau Whenua's occupation meant work could get under way, Puketapu-Dentice said.
He said work was happening behind the scenes to ensure the development resonated with who they were as Taranaki Whānui, including input from several uri designers and artists.
Puketapu-Dentice said as that work progressed, he wanted to keep dialogue open with Mau Whenua to see what influence they wanted to have.
He said there should be a component of the development which recognised the occupation.
"Those things provide texture. We've got to acknowledge them so there's a historical memory within the site that recognises all these things that have happened.
"Let's not just sort of wash away of it. It's real and it happened."
