Background and History

 

Oromahoe has a long history of occupation by hapū of the Ngāpuhi tribe. There were small settlements with houses, land and features of the landscape all named, with boundaries clearly defined. During the mid-19^th century, kaumatua who had the mana rangatira of the land were Mahikai and his teina Marupo; Tuhirangi and his teina Peia; Parangi, brother of Marupo’s wife Waihue; Whiorau teina of Te Pua; and Timi their first cousin; as well as Kemara and Moko. Present owners trace their descent from these tūpuna.

 

By the turn of the century, individual title had still not been established, and it was for this purpose that the Oromahoe Papatupu Committee was established in 1904, to hear claims to the land.

 

Rights were claimed by accepted Māori practice of ahika or occupation through tūpuna, pā, mahinga and mana rangatira. Hereditary rights remained intact and were not affected by ringa kaha, or rights of conquest followed by permanent occupation. In the case of Oromahoe however, there have been instances of rights to occupy, with ultimate legal title being bestowed on individuals who would otherwise not have had the kinship connection to claim.

 

The dominant hapū in Oromahoe presently are Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Kawa, Te Ngare Hauata, Matarahurahu and Whanaurara. Of these it was subsequently said that Matarahurahu had died out.

 

Ngāti Tautahi, Ngāti Whakaheke and Ngāti Kaihoro have also been recognised as being hapū who have had rights in Oromahoe.

 

Prior to World War II, a number of small holdings had been established comprised mainly of a few dairy cows, with cream being sent to the Bay of Islands dairy factory. Pigs and Sheep were also kept mainly to provide supplementary meat for domestic use, and for the former, to make use of the skim milk available. Large gardens were a main stay of the requirements for fruit and vegetables. What was grown or killed was shared, as was labour for such seasonal activities as haymaking.

 

This situation continued into the 1950s with up to 11 farms sending cream to the dairy factory, one farm only having more than thirty cows. Thirty was the magical number, being held as the ideal by some to aim for. Such a herd, it was thought, would be capable of providing a sufficient income for families, which were often large.

 

It was becoming increasingly evident however, that what had been considered a minimum income requirement in the early post war years, was now no longer sufficient. The economics of the time made it increasingly difficult to keep up with such things as mortgage repayments. Advice from Māori Affairs Department field officers, whilst being pertinent to good farming practice, was not geared to accounting for management of income to relative debt. Small holding were increasingly being left, particularly by the young. Better employment opportunities and income beckoned, both at local freezing works and further afield in Auckland. In two instances families cut their connections all together in Oromahoe, by selling their holdings to pakeha farmers. Areas of land which had been in pasture rapidly began to show the signs of neglect.

 

Such was the situation when on February 8, 1962, a court sitting was held at Oromahoe marae with Judge Gillanders Scott presiding. Owners of the numerous blocks situated in Oromahoe attended and gave their approval for their lands to be incorporated as one unit, to be administered by the Department of Lands and Surveys. It was envisaged that at such future time the land was developed, it could again be subdivided and made available by ballot to selected owners or their appointees within their own families who were suitably qualified in farm management. Not all the owners, especially those with individual title, were agreeable to their land being included in the scheme and chose to continue farming operations independently.

 

Accordingly, at a court sitting at Whangarei May 15, 1962, Judge Gillanders-Scott provided for “The several blocks of Māori freehold or European land owned by Māori, containing and area of 1932 acres, 2 roods, 10 perches held under separate titles... an order cancelling the several titles, substituting title of the whole land... more conveniently/ economically held in common ownership under one title.” An amendment was made by an order of the Appellate court under Section 45 of the Māori Affaris A1953 on January 31, 1963, reducing the area by 70 acres 1 rood 13 perches, being the area of Porotu B2 Block excluded. This amendment was the forerunner of many to the amalgamated block in common ownership now titled Oromahoe R. On January 24, 1969, an application was made for Te Aute B2 to be amalgamated with a number of other titles as follows, 18R, Haoowhenua, Oromahoe E1, Te Pae B6B1, Te Pae B6B2, Patukauae C (Part), Porotu B1B and Porotu B. The application first came before the court on February 20, 1969, was adjourned and didn’t surface again until 27, 1972.

 

Change of title came about by:

1. Voluntary sale to the Crown through Section 151/53 of the Māori Affairs Act 1953 (live buying);
2. Sale of uneconomic shares on succession, to the Māori Trustees through Section 137/5
3. Acquisition of consolidated uneconomic interests by the Māori Trustee under Section 445/53.

With the incorporation of new blocks into the scheme, the title changed. From 18R, it became 18R2 on December 4, 1972. Subsequent changes became 18R2B, then to 18R2B2 on November 14, 1977, thence to 18R2B2B, then to 18R2B2B2 which is the current title.

 

By December 17, 1970, a policy of ‘no more live buying’ was instituted by the Māori Trustee on behalf of the Crown, nor were any more ‘uneconomic shares’ taken by the Māori Trustee. The policies of live buying and conversion of share meant however, that the character of tribally owners ‘tūpuna’ land had irrevocably changed. The Crown had become the major share holder. 64,400.233 shares out of 104,552.219 were now in Crown title, leaving only 37% in Māori ownership. Apart from the Crown, the present owners schedule lists 333 owners, albeit of these, a number are deceased and have not been succeeded to.

 

THE BRIEF

1. To help the present ownership update all share successions
2. To help owners families trace their whakapapa
3. To identify all shares acquired under compulsory acquisition by the Crown

1.    1. Update of Share Succession

 

Preliminary research identified 72 names of deceased people in the owners schedule. Further investigation eliminated six of these as being family names repeated from one generation to another, creating difficulty in establishing who the name belonged to. This was particularly so when ‘nicknames’ had been given to individuals and baptismal names were not commonly used if at all. All bar 14 have had succession forms and/or letters sent to next of kin. Of the remaining number, preliminary enquiries for some have been made, while others as yet remain unknown.

 

There are approximately 70 addressees still unknown or incomplete, some of which are in the process of updating. Others require more research to identify family links and whereabouts of individuals.

 

2.     2. Whakapapa

 Sources of whakapapa have come from:

a.     Maori Land Court records

b.     Oromahoe Papatupu Committee minutes

c.     Personal records as kept by Hori Tane (deceased 1977) son of Te Tane Haratua and Hone Ngapua (deceased 1932, aged 92) son of Tuhirangi

d.     Verbal information from a variety of sources, having a common link in Oromahoe

e.     Records extracted from the Rangihamama research project, where owners had interests in both blocks.

 

Much of this research has been a matter of collating information, often sketchy, from different sources, then fitting it together. The aim has been to identify tūpuna from who the present owners gain their rights. To this effect, although the whakapapa goes considerably further back in time, a case point of the mid-19^th century has been established, with rangatira from that period identified. From them, the kinship links which had given substance to rights in the land have been determined. People from that period who did not remain in any degree of permanent occupancy had their rights lapse. The embers of their fire died and remained cold. Work had yet to be complete in linking all the present generation with their forebears.

 

3.     Identification of owners share compulsorily acquire by the Crown

Owners have been listed under three categories of:

a.     Section 137/53 sale of uneconomic share on succession to the Māori Trustee

b.     Section 151/53 live buying of share by the Māori Trustee

c.     Section 445/53 consolidated uneconomic interests acquired by the Māori Trustee (compulsorily)

 

Although the lists have not been entirely completed, errors in referencing in land court records have made it difficult to the original documentation. Such is the case concerning shares held by Ade Kiwikiwi and others which were acquired or sold by/to the Māori Trustee under Section 435 and Section 151. 3213.553 shares were involved for a price of 3213 pounds, 11 shillings and one penny was paid. Further systematic searching may well find the relevant files required.

 

CONCLUSION

The research brief had been and interesting and rewarding exercise. It has required numerous trips up north to the Māori Land Court at Whangarei, followed by periods, usually two nights at Oromahoe to follow up matters pertinent to the brief. Parameters have been determined usually outside the confines of a standard nine to five routine. Information has been sought from records, and through people contacts, usually with one or two, occasionally more, and sometimes into the early hours of the morning. Opportunities have also arisen in the attendance of hui in meeting people and pursuing relevant material. Where it has not been possible to make personal contact in seeking information, letters have been written. Unfortunately the number of replies does not tally with the letters posted. Those that have replied, however, have been grateful for the information received and have, in their turn, been obliging in their response. Verbal requests have also been made by a number of people for information concerning the scheme, and for whakapapa tracing kinship links to Oromahoe. The network of interest has grown, particularly with owners listed in the schedual who have had no contact with Oromahoe, and don’t know this section of their people.

 

Regrettably the time constraint for this exercise has made it impossible to complete the task and to present the material contained within it in an appropriate manner. Hopefully this situation may be redressed in the future, in order to have a completed and permanent record documented for the benefit of present and future beneficiaries of the scheme. By consensus of those attending the recent 1988 ‘Annual General Meeting’ when a decision was made to move in the direction of forming a 438 Trust, it was further decided that henceforth the land development scheme should be known simply as “Oromahoe.”