The history of the interaction between Te Roroa and the Crown has been outlined in the Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Roroa Report, published in 1992, and also referred to in the Kaipara Interim Report published in 2002. The claims of Te Roroa relate to breaches by the Crown of its obligations under the Treaty, particularly a number of Crown acts and omissions in relation to the operation and impact of the Native Land Court process and Crown land purchasing in the 1870s, which resulted in the virtual landlessness of Te Roroa.

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

Te Roroa and the Crown have been engaged in periodic negotiations since 1992. In 1993 Te Roroa and the Crown entered into a “Framework Agreement” governing the conduct of negotiations. In 1996, the Crown formally recognised the mandate of the Te Roroa negotiators and the parties signed Terms of Negotiation specifying the objectives and general procedures for the negotiations. On 20 December 2004, the Crown and Te Roroa signed an Agreement in Principle. A Deed of Settlement based on this agreement was confirmed by exchange of letter on 10 September 2005. The Deed was then ratified by members of Te Roroa through a postal ballot, and signed on 17 December 2005. The Deed of Settlement will be implemented following the passage of settlement legislation.

Te Roroa was represented in negotiations for the settlement of their historical claims by a group of negotiators including Alex Nathan, Daniel Ambler and Moengaroa (also known as Sharon) Murray. The Office of Treaty Settlements, with the support of the Department of Conservation, Treasury and other government agencies, represented the Crown in day-to-day negotiations. The Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Mark Burton, represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Te Roroa.

From an early time the people of Te Roroa occupied lands stretching from the Kaipara harbour north to the Hokianga harbour, including the kauri forest at Waipoua. Wesleyan missionaries established missions in the Hokianga from the mid-1830s and there were early Pakeha residents who lived with Māori communities from this time.

In 1842 the Crown required some chiefs of the northern Kaipara to cede between 2,200 and 3,000 acres of land as punishment for plunder of a store, whose owner was believed by local Māori to have desecrated an urupā and removed human remains. No payment was made for the land and the Crown failed to consult with, or consider the interests of, Te Roroa groups that had significant interests at Te Kopuru.

Te Roroa offered to sell the Crown some lands in the vicinity of Waimamaku and Waipoua in 1874. During the series of negotiations that followed, the Crown failed to instigate and follow clear procedures to identify and exclude from its purchase all the lands Te Roroa indicated to surveyors they wished to retain. This led to the alienation of Te Roroa from some of their most treasured sites, particularly at Kaharau, Manuwhetai, and Whangaiariki. Shortly after the sales were concluded in 1876 Te Roroa began protesting the Crown’s failure to provide reserves they believed had been agreed to.

The lands retained by Te Roroa were awarded by the Native Land Court to individuals,rather than to the iwi or hapū. Individualisation made those lands susceptible to partition, fragmentation and alienation. The Crown continued to purchase land from Te Roroa until the iwi was effectively landless.

Sacred burial sites of Te Roroa, such as those at Aratapu and Kohekohe were desecrated and looted while koiwi (human remains) as well as taonga (artefacts) were sold or added to Museum collections.

The separation of Te Roroa from their wāhi tapu and taonga has been a source of great spiritual and emotional pain for Te Roroa. The Crown acknowledges ‘ngā aureretanga o Te Roroa’ (the continuous crying of Te Roroa) as a result of this separation.

Te Roroa have sought redress on a wide range of issues since 1861 and the Crown has failed to appropriately deal with the grievances of Te Roroa prior to this settlement.

Recognition of Te Roroa’s traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual association with places and sites owned by the Crown within their area of interest. This allows Te Roroa and the Crown to protect and enhance the conservation values associated with these sites, and includes:

Sites Transferred to Te Roroa 

24 areas of Crown-owned land of special significance to Te Roroa will be returned to the iwi.

These sites are:

• Kaiparaheka
• Wairau
• Kawerua
• Haohaonui
• Waingata
• Te Riu
• Muriwai
• Te Taiawa
• Puketurehu
• Maunganui Bluff
• Manuwhetai
• Ureti
• Puketapu/Whangaiariki
• Papatia and Te Kopae
• Former Works Depot, Waimamaku

Waipoua Forest Cultural Redress Properties:

• Waiotane
• Huaki
• River Road
• Tekateka
• Pukenuiorongo
• Oneroa
• Northern Contiguous Area
• Whangamoa
• Southern Contiguous Area

These sites total approximately 2,000 hectares. In many cases, the settlement legislation will protect the sites’ natural values. Public access to sites with high public use will be preserved.

Overlay Classification or Tarehu 

The Tarehu or overlay classification (known as a tōpuni in some other settlements) acknowledges the traditional, cultural, spiritual and historical association of Te Roroa with those parts of the Waipoua Forest not being returned to Te Roroa.

Tarehu status requires the Minister of Conservation and Te Roroa to develop and publicise a set of principles that will assist the Minister to avoid harming or diminishing Te Roroa values in relation to the Waipoua Forest.

The New Zealand Conservation Authority and the Northland Conservation Board will also be required to have regard to the principles and consult with Te Roroa.

Statutory Acknowledgements 

These register the special association Te Roroa 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 Te Roroa with summaries of all resource consent applications that may affect the areas named in the acknowledgements.

There are to be two acknowledgements over the Arai-Te-Uru Recreation Reserve and Tokatoka Scenic Reserve.

Deeds of Recognition 

These oblige the Crown to consult with Te Roroa and have regard to their views regarding the special association Te Roroa have with a site. They also specify the nature of the input of Te Roroa into management of those areas by the Department of Conservation and/or the Commissioner of Crown Lands.

There will be two Deeds of Recognition covering the Arai-Te-Uru Recreation Reserve and Tokatoka Scenic Reserve.

Place Names 

Six place names will be corrected or recognised. Merowharara Stream will be corrected to Mirowharara Stream, Taita Stream will be corrected to Waitakuhuruhuru Stream, and Waitapu Stream will be corrected to Ngaiore Stream.

The names Mangatara Stream, Ohae and Maunga Kairara will be assigned to previously unnamed features.

Restoration of Te Roroa access to traditional foods and food gathering areas, including:

Customary Fisheries 

The Te Roroa governance entity will be appointed as an Advisory Committee to the Minister of Fisheries. This committee will provide advice on the management of fisheries in the Te Roroa Area of Interest, including on the customary interest of Te Roroa in those fisheries.

Other provisions include a right of first refusal, for a period of 50 years, over specified toheroa quota if it is included in the Quota Management System in the future, and an annual meeting with the Ministry for the Environment to discuss issues such as the application of the Resource Management Act in the Te Roroa Area of Interest.

Relationships

Protocols

Protocols will be issued by the Ministers of Conservation, Fisheries, Culture and Heritage and Economic Development, to encourage good working relationships on matters of cultural importance to Te Roroa.

This redress recognises the economic loss suffered by Te Roroa arising from breaches by the Crown of its Treaty obligations. It is aimed at providing Te Roroa with resources to assist them to develop their economic and social well-being. It includes:

Financial Redress 

Te Roroa will receive a combination of Crown-owned land and cash to a value of $9.5 million.

Right of First Refusal 

Te Roroa will have, for a period of 50 years, a right of first refusal to buy, at full market value, certain surplus Crown-owned properties. They will also have a two year right of deferred selection over certain Crown-owned properties.