Maori-Pakeha land Transactions in Hawke's Bay, 1848-1864

Abstract

This paper is a study of pakeha land transactions in the mid-nineteenth century in Hawke's Bay. A unique approach to this topic has proven to be a challenge, especially as many historians, lawyers and politicians have expended a great deal of time, energy and rhetoric in attempting to resolve some of the more pressing issues involving Maori land sales through the Waitangi Tribunal. The history of land sales, not only in New Zealand but in other British colonies, is plagued by problems of communication, lack of knowledge and comprehension on all sides. The British, not fully comprehending Maori traditional land use, Maori usage rights and Maori beliefs regarding land transfers, assumed that they could apply European common law to New Zealand and the Crown purchases. Similarly, the Maori, initially the dominant population and authority in the Islands, controlling most aspects of Maori/European interaction and trade were unable to fully comprehend or did not accept British concepts regarding possession and ownership. In Hawke's Bay, Maori had been leasing land to European squatters, and through this regular contact they obviously recognised the benefits that could be gained by the introduction of large numbers of Europeans to the region and so offered to sell land to the Crown, with the proviso that a town be established in the Bay. These facts are undisputable, but what can be debated is the extent to which Maori fully comprehended the European term "sale" and to what level the British were able to enforce the conditions of the sale. I suggest that to a certain degree, Ngati Kahungunu in Hawke's Bay continued to use their lands in a traditional manner following the sales of the three blocks in 1851. By examining Maori motives for selling land,Maori land tenure and the resulting challenges to European cultivation and settlement I suggest that Maori believed that their Mana whenua continued.Attempts by the Crown to control all aspects of Hawke's Bay society, including that of Maori, proved to be futile and the continued independence of Ngati Kahungunu placed limitations on European settlement until the mid-1860s.