Popular beach could be part of treaty settlement.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson has asked his officials to consider the suitability of Elliot's Bay in the Bay of Island's for Treaty settlement's.

The Elliot family who have been farming the 600 hectare block for many years want to sell and have offered the land which includes a popular coastal beach to DOC to be paid off over 20 years however the department has turned the offer down.

Nga Iwi o Rawhiti Treaty claimant Robert Willoughby says a lot of land in the area was confiscated by the Crown including Te Akau, also known as Elliot's Bay, which is part of a former Maori land block called Te Pahi.

He now wants the land worth millions of dollars land banked for Treaty settlement.

Mr Willoughby says Maori can understand the position of farmer John Elliot who has been a part of the community for a long time but at the same time know the history behind the whenua which was a village from which Maori were forced off.
 

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