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December 10, 2025
Helmut Modlik | Ngāti Toa Rangatira leads with a homecoming built on rangatiratanga and whenua return
Dale Husband
Posted On December 10, 2025
Download AudioDreams become a reality as first Pasifika families receive keys to culturally designed homes.
Whānau of Ngāti Toa Rangatira are celebrating a milestone: the iwi is moving ahead with new housing developments and property investments – tangible signs of rangatiratanga, economic strength and long-term wellbeing for future generations.
Since their settlement with the Crown, Ngāti Toa Rangatira have used their settlement rights and strategic economic planning to build a foundation for iwi-led development. Under the iwi’s economic strategy, He Kāinga Ururua, the vision has been to generate opportunities for whānau, strengthen iwi assets, and grow a sustainable future under iwi leadership.
In recent times, Ngāti Toa has expanded its holdings – including the return to iwi ownership of ancestral land at Whitireia in Porirua. The recovery of that 53-hectare block marks both a symbolic and practical restoration of whenua for the people.
Through its development arm Toa Developments Limited, Ngāti Toa is spearheading residential and commercial property projects across its rohe.
One example is the rollout of townhouses at Titahi Bay, offered to iwi members under a leasehold model that reduces barriers to home ownership by separating land ownership (retained by iwi) from the dwelling itself. This kind of model reflects a commitment to affordability, intergenerational stability, and maintaining iwi ownership over whenua.
Ngāti Toa’s leadership says this approach does more than build houses – it builds futures. As CEO Helmut Modlik has said, the iwi aims to give whānau the opportunity to return home, reconnect with whenua, and build lives grounded in whakapapa, identity, and community wellbeing. What this all means:
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Whānau-centred housing solutions: By focusing on iwi-led developments, Ngāti Toa offers a model where housing isn’t just a commodity, but a pathway back to whakapapa, whenua, and inter-generational belonging.
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Rangatiratanga through homeownership: Retaining land under iwi ownership while enabling whānau to live on it means iwi maintain long-term kaitiaki responsibility – a powerful expression of rangatiratanga in practice.
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Sustainable economic foundations: Iwi-driven property and asset development strengthens the economic base of Ngāti Toa, enabling reinvestment in whānau services, education, cultural initiatives, and future development.
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A blueprint for other iwi: As affordable housing becomes more elusive nationwide, Ngāti Toa’s model may offer a blueprint for other iwi seeking to provide culturally grounded, affordable homes for their people while retaining control of whenua.
Yet the path forward isn’t without hurdles. Rising infrastructure and construction costs continue to strike at Māori housing providers, occasionally stalling developments – a reality widely affecting efforts at papakāinga and iwi-led housing across the motu.
To realise the full potential of iwi-led housing, there must be support: from government policies that recognise papakāinga and iwi housing needs, to financing models that acknowledge intergenerational returns rather than short-term profit.
Ngāti Toa Rangatira’s housing developments show what can happen when rangatiratanga, economic strategy and iwi values come together. These aren’t just houses – they are whare tūhonohono: homes that connect whānau to whenua, to iwi identity, and to future generations.
As Ngāti Toa moves forward, the message is clear: Māori-led housing isn’t a side project. It is a cornerstone of tino rangatiratanga, social justice, and long-term wellbeing for whānau and iwi.
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