The historical grievances of Ngāti Whare relate primarily to the Crown’s actions during the 1860s wars, restrictions on land use and land alienation, the Urewera District Native Reserves Act 1896, Crown corporatisation, cessation of indigenous forest logging and the return of Minginui without providing Ngāti Whare with sufficient resources.

An account of the historical background agreed between the Crown and Ngāti Whare is included in the Deed of Settlement, along with acknowledgments of Crown breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and a Crown Apology for those breaches.

The Crown recognised the mandate of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whare (Te Rūnanga) to negotiate a settlement on behalf of Ngāti Whare to settle their historical Treaty claims on 18 November 2003. The Crown signed Terms of Negotiation with Te Rūnanga on 7 May 2004. On 25 June 2008 Ngāti Whare signed the Central North Island Forests Iwi Collective Deed of Settlement, which records the agreement of the Central North Island Forests Iwi Collective and the Crown to settle the historical CNI Forests Land claims.

On 19 June 2009, the Crown and Ngāti Whare signed an Agreement in Principle and a Deed of Settlement based on this agreement was initialled on 22 October 2009. The Deed of Settlement was then ratified by the members of Ngāti Whare and signed on 8 December 2009.

The Deed of Settlement will be implemented following the passage of settlement legislation.

Te Rūnanga is led by James Carlson (Chair). The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Christopher Finlayson, represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Ngāti Whare.

Ngāti Whare did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi. In the two decades after 1840 the Crown did not establish a relationship with Ngāti Whare from which Ngāti Whare felt a meaningful duty of allegiance to the Crown could be derived. Ngāti Whare did not sell any land at this time. In 1864 Ngāti Whare fought at the battle of Orakau, helping their whanaunga resist the Crown’s invasion of the Waikato.

From 1868, war was brought to Te Urewera as the Crown sought to apprehend Te Kooti. Ngāti Whare chose to support Te Kooti, seeing him as a prophet and identifying with the injustice of his situation.

In pursuit of Te Kooti, a Crown force made a surprise attack on the Ngāti Whare pā, Te Harema, in May 1869. Te Kooti was not there nor were most of the Ngāti Whare fighting force. Five or six Ngāti Whare men were killed. Some were shot as they resisted the attackers, while others were killed as they retreated from the pa “hampered with their women and children”. Some of the men shot were elderly. According to Ngāti Whare oral tradition, women were raped in the attack and as a consequence some committed suicide. As many as 50 women and children were taken prisoner. Te Harema pā was destroyed along with all other kainga, cultivations and provisions in the valley.

Between April and May 1870 the remainder of Ngāti Whare voluntarily surrendered to the Crown. They joined the prisoners taken at Te Harema and were placed under the control of Crown allies at Te Pūtere. Ngāti Whare returned home between 1872 and 1874.

In the late 1870s the Native Land Court began to investigate title to lands in which Ngāti Whare had interests. Ngāti Whare maintained opposition to the Court and did not actively participate in hearings or contest title investigations. This non-participation resulted in Ngāti Whare interests not being fully recognised. Land sales, often to the Crown, followed the hearings. The alienation of these lands left Ngāti Whare eager to retain ownership of their remaining lands.

Parliament enacted the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 to give effect to agreements made between the Crown and Ngāti Whare and other Urewera Māori. The 1896 Act provided for an alternative to a Native Land Court determination of ownership of customary lands in a 656,000 acre reserve that included the remaining lands of Ngāti Whare. Decisions for the use of land would be made collectively and according to Māori custom. Ngāti Whare believed this system would protect their lands from sale, particularly the timber-rich Te Whāiti series blocks.

The Crown subsequently amended the 1896 Act and undermined the system of self-government it provided. In May 1915 the Crown decided to purchase the Te Whāiti block knowing that purchasing individual shares was illegal under the 1896 Act. The Crown’s decision to purchase prevented Ngāti Whare from entering into timber leases with private parties or otherwise using their land. Ngāti Whare also disagreed with the Crown’s valuation of the land and timber for the purchase. By 1923 Crown purchasing had left Ngāti Whare virtually landless.

From the late 1940s the Crown, through the New Zealand Forest Service, built and ran Minginui Village. This had a positive impact on the social and health conditions of Ngāti Whare.

In 1984 the Whirinaki Conservation Park was established and, shortly thereafter, the Crown stopped felling indigenous timber. Combined with the restructuring of the New Zealand Forest Service in 1986, this resulted in high unemployment rates for Minginui Village, a significant decline in services and an increase in poverty. Such problems were compounded by the return of Minginui Village to Ngāti Whare without adequate resources or support in 1989.

This redress provides for recognition of the traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual association of Ngāti Whare with places and sites owned by the Crown within their area of interest. This allows Ngāti Whare and the Crown to protect and enhance the conservation values associated with these sites. In summary, the package includes:

Whirinaki Conservation Park related redress

• The provision of a joint governance role for Ngāti Whare and the East Coast Bay of Plenty Conservation Board through the development and joint approval of a Conservation Management Plan for the Whirinaki Conservation Park
• The designation of two sites of special significance as Specially Protected Areas under the Conservation Act 1987 and, with the agreement of Ngāti Whare and the Minister of Conservation, the ability to place restrictions on activities within those sites. The two sites are:
  • Tūwatawata, a principal maunga (mountain) of Ngāti Whare, and
  • Te Whāiti-Nui-a-Toi Canyon, the home of a Ngāti Whare kaitiaki (guardian)

• The initiation by the Director General of Conservation of a process to assign a new name for the Whirinaki Conservation Park; and
• The inclusion of five conservation areas within the Whirinaki Conservation Park.

Project Whirinaki Regeneration Trust

• The gifting of up to 640 hectares (the “Regeneration Land”) within an area of land subject to the Whirinaki Crown forest license and the establishment of a joint Crown/Ngāti Whare Trust to manage a regeneration project and receive the Regeneration Land and Crown funds of $1 million.

The regeneration project aims to regenerate back to indigenous forest an area of land that is subject to the Whirinaki Crown forest license which also bisects the Whirinaki Conservation Park. The regeneration project seeks to restore and enhance both the Whirinaki Conservation Park and the mana of Ngāti Whare as kaitiaki (guardians) of the Whirinaki Conservation Park while also providing benefits and enjoyment for all New Zealanders.

Transfer of Ownership

• The vesting of seven sites:
  • Pareranui;
  • Waimurupūhā;
  • Tauranga-o-Reti;
  • Te Teko;
  • the Mangamate Falls Site;
  •  Mangamate Kāinga; and
  •  Te Takanga a Wharepakau.

These sites total approximately 36.2 hectares and are of cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāti Whare. These sites will be vested in Ngāti Whare subject to, where appropriate, protection of conservation values, ongoing public access and reserve status.

• The return of five wähi tapu sites currently administered by Land Information New Zealand:
  • Te Pukemohoao Kāinga;
  • Matuatahi pā;
  • Otutakahiao;
  • Wekanui Kāinga; and
  • Otahi Kāinga.

These sites total 10.2952 hectares.

• The joint vesting of four sites in Ngāti Whare and Ngāti Manawa:
  • Te Tāpiri pā;
  • Okārea pā;
  • Te Rake pā; and
  • Hinamoki pā.

These sites total approximately 13 hectares and are of cultural and spiritual significance to both Ngāti Whare and Ngāti Manawa.

Other site specific redress

Place names

The Whirinaki Conservation Park will be assigned a new name by the Director General of Conservation. Two other place names will also be altered to correct misspellings:

• Te Taupiri to Te Tāpiri; and
• Arahaki Lagoon to Arohaki Lagoon.

These changes will be made in consultation with the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngä Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa and in accordance with the functions and practices of that Board.

Statutory Acknowledgements

Statutory Acknowledgements register the special association Ngäti Whare has with an area, and will be included in the settlement legislation. Statutory Acknowledgements are recognised under the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Historic Places Act 1993. The acknowledgements require that consent authorities provide Ngäti Whare with summaries of all resource consent applications that may affect the areas named in the acknowledgements.

• There will be Statutory Acknowledgements over three sites:
  • the whole of Whirinaki Conservation Park;
  • specified and discrete areas of Te Urewera National Park on the eastern boundary of Ngäti Whare’s Area of Interest; and
  • the Whirinaki River and its tributaries.

Statutory Acknowledgements are non-exclusive redress, meaning more than one iwi can have a Statutory Acknowledgement over the same site.

Deeds of Recognition

Deeds of Recognition oblige the Crown to consult with Ngäti Whare and have regard to their views regarding the special association Ngäti Whare have with a site. They also specify the nature of the input of Ngäti Whare into management of those areas by the Department of Conservation.

A Deed of Recognition will be made between Ngäti Whare and the Crown in relation to specified and discrete areas of Te Urewera National Park on the eastern boundary of the Area of Interest and the Whirinaki River and its tributaries.

Other Cultural redress

• funding (totalling $200,000) to contribute towards the restoration of Te Whāiti Court House; and
• a framework for the Rangitaiki River, to be negotiated post-Deed, for parties to establish a suitable management regime and improve the integrated management of the waters.

Protocols

There will be a relationship accord with the Department of Conservation.

The Deed of Settlement will provide for protocols setting out the way in which specific government agencies will interact with Ngāti Whare in future. The agencies are:

• Ministry of Fisheries; and
• Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

There will be a relationship agreement with the Ministry for the Environment.

Letters of Engagement

The Deed of Settlement will provide for the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to write to:

• the Minister of Māori Affairs in respect of Minginui Village; and
• regional authorities and non-government organisations encouraging ongoing relationships with Ngāti Whare.