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February 02, 2022
Ngāruahine celebrate return of Te Ngutu O Te Manu
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On February 2, 2022
Download AudioMāori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has welcomed the return of land near Kapuni to one of her iwi Ngāruahine.
The 16-hectare block is part of Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, the forest stronghold of Riwha Tītokowaru, which was attacked in 1868 by the Armed Constabulary in a battle which led to the death of Prussian soldier of fortune Gustavus von Tempsky and the start of what became known as the South Taranaki Campaign or Tītokowaru’s War.
The land was taken by raupatu and ended up in the hands of South Taranaki District Council, which agreed to return it for the nominal sum of $1.
“It feels really good when you get land back. It feels really great when you get land back that was stolen. The dollar was too much but we’re still owed billions of dollars as Māori but again it goes to show the aroha we have for the rest of our nation”, she says.
The council also agreed to return a former road reserve in Manaia on the same terms.
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