Listen Now: 
Descendants of the original inhabitants of Te Aro Pa are finally able to move in to a tribal papakainga on their own land.
Fourteen homes open at the new Te Aro Pa papakainga on Saturday.
The original pa near what's now the junction of Taranaki and Manners streets was displaced in the 1870s under the pressures of European settlement, and a series of land swaps means the new pa is beside Evans Bay.
Trust chair Basil Tapuke says the project has taken a huge amount of effort from the owners and Te Tumu Paeroa as the responsible trustee.
The ceremony will include the unveiling of two pou.
"Those two pou mark the significance of the descendants and where they come from, primarily Ngati Ruanui and Taranaki. The mauri stones were laid in a private ceremony around six months ago. The pou are also recognition of the descendants of Te Aro Paa and the responsibility that they have for that land," he says.
Basil Tapuke says Dwell Housing manages the tenancies, but the trust has oversight of who gets to live in the houses, with descendants of the original owners having priority.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
