Te Arawa make trip to Hauraki over treaty claim

Sir Toby Curtis outside Tamatekapua Meeting House. Photo/File

About 275 Te Arawa representatives have headed to Hauraki to express their views over a Treaty of Waitangi settlement involving land where one of the tribe's most important ancestors is buried.

The iwi representatives went to Whitianga yesterdayto meet with local tribes. A group of elders then went to Thames to speak with Hauraki elders.

Te Arawa kaumatua Sir Toby Curtis described both meetings as peaceful and successful.

He said the tribe had wanted to meet with locals to express their concerns over a Treaty of Waitangi settlement being made to 12 tribes of the Hauraki region concerning Moehau Mountain on the Coromandel Peninsula.

The mountain is the burial site of Tamatekapua - the captain of the Arawa waka - and at least four other important Arawa tupuna (ancestors) and descendants - Tuhoromatakaka, Kahumatamomoe, Hei and Whakaotirangi - however, they are not all buried at the same place as Tamatekapua.

Sir Toby said Te Arawa wanted to make sure the tribe's interests on the mountain remained intact and had requested to meet the local iwi on a marae, but the invitation was revoked last week.

He said since iwi members had already planned to take the trip and the buses were booked, they decided to go anyway, but instead took up an invitation to meet local Maori at a homestead in Whitianga.

A group of Te Arawa elders then travelled to Thames where Crown Chief Negotiator Chris Barker was meeting with Hauraki elders.

"We sat outside under the trees in a lovely spot and the Crown negotiator came out and talked to us."

Sir Toby said some of the Hauraki elders were uneasy about them being there so requested they meet again on a marae in the near future.

"That is what we wanted in the first place."

Sir Toby said the outcome was more successful than he thought it would be.

"We didn't want to go there and tell them they are wrong, we just wanted to put our case forward. It was a good success. It's not the sort of success that we can say the matter is settled. We are now waiting for them to invite us back so we can talk to them on the marae."

Sir Toby said Te Arawa had good relations with the Hauraki tribes, particularly Ngati Maru, because they made land available for Tuhourangi after the Tarawera eruption in the 1800s.