Contextualising Assets Co Ltd v Mere Roihi: Puzzling over a History of Great Significance

Abstract

The Privy Council’s decision in Assets Co Ltd v Mere Roihi [1905] AC 176 (PC) (Assets) is mostly referred to today because of its relevance to the Land Transfer Act 1952 and its part in the development of New Zealand’s Torrens system of land transfer. A contextual examination of various aspects of the broader history of the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island that surrounded the case shows that its significance is far wider than the common perception. The facts giving rise to the dispute in Assets were shrouded by tenurial difficulties on the East Coast and controversy surrounded the Native Land Court’s determination relating to two of the land blocks in the case. The Privy Council’s decision in Assets was preceded by fourteen other decisions, many of which occurred in the latter stages of a failed land management scheme on the East Coast. The aftermath of the decision brought with it dire implications for both the Maori claimants involved in the litigation and for Maori landowners more generally. The case is also linked to a significant historic economic event: the City of Glasgow Bank collapse. These contextual elements combine to show that Assets’ historical and legal significance is far greater than its dicta regarding fraud or its part in developing the concept of indefeasibility in New Zealand’s land transfer system.