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The new head of the Orakei Reserves Board says there could be more opportunities to create a Ngati Whatua Orakei presence on the land.
The board is a co-governance body between the hapu and Auckland Council which manages the green spaces at Takaparawha Bastion Point, Okahu Reserve and the Pourewa fields at the southern edge of the original Orakei Block.
Sharon Hawke says it was created in the spirit of sharing demonstrated by Apihai Te Kawau when he invited Pakeha settleers in 1840.
She says it's a place Aucklanders and other visitors can look out on the Waitemata unhindered by fences or guards.
"It's obviously a site for us to look at where there might be some tourism ventures, like there are 20 busloads per day minimum go up to the Michael Savage Memorial but they are not being garnered to tell them the story of the land. There are plans afoot to capture that type of audience and offer a product that is of a high calibre," Ms Hawke says.
She paid tribute to her uncle Grant Hawke, who chaired the board for many years.
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