SQUANDERED FORTUNES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 748, 22 August 1929, Page 1

SQUANDERED FORTUNES

Penniless Orakei Maoris LANDS SOLD: MONEY SPENT ARE the Maoris who are at present living on the Orakei block being persuaded to embark on expensive legislation in the hope that they can regain possession of the land? From inquiries made by a i3un representative it seems that someone has been delving into the past and as a result of investigations, has suggested to the Maoris that they should not have sold the land to the Government. He has told them that they were only trustees of the Orakei block for the descendants of three tribes and that it was not in their power to sell to the Crown.

However, this is disproved by in-i-tas from another source. The M»ori Land Settlement. Act of 1909 removed all restrictions which were l—viously made against titles, and kriTe* were allowed to lease or to Z\\ their land in the ordinary way. " was about this time that the Euro--a-ns began to operate at Orakei. viie Crown was not the first party re purchase land there. Several juropean families had done so on ■ormer occasions. The Maoris have been paid approximately £IOO,OOO for Orakei by the Government, but they have little to •how for it today. gome criticism has been levelled at tormer Governments for not holding money in trust for the natives. It bu been claimed that they should MT er have been paid such large sums Ot money. But it is stated by reliable authorities that the Maoris would not have agreed otherwise. They refused re sell Orakei unless they were paid lor it aa soon as the purchase was pomplete. One Maori, who is still living in the village on Orakei, is said to have received between £II,OOO and £12,000 for his share of the block, but today he is penniless. Several other natives are in the name condition. In fact, the 70 or 80 Maoris living in the tiny village near the Drainage Board’s pumping station are more or less at starvation point. Many of them are suffering from tubercular trouble, according to the Maoris themselves. "The Maoris must realise that the end is In sight as far as living at Orakei is concerned,” said one man nho is closely associated with the affairs of the block. The natives still own two acres of Orakei, and this is situated round the meeting-house of their village. In time this must pass into the hands of the pakeha, as the advent of Europeans will eventually drive them •way. A FEW SENSIBLE Originally 38 acres of land were set aside for the Maoris on Orakei. but when all restrictions regarding sale or lease were removed, they gradually sold it—sometimes in small areas of one and two acres as they needed money. The purchase money seems to have been squandered by all but a few sensible Maoris, who moved to an area on the Kaipara. and took up more land for themselves.

Europeans who have been working on the Orakei subdivision state that several of the natives purchased motor-cars while they were in funds, and during race meetings many of them hired taxis to and from the coarse. In their child-like way the Maoris simply squandered their money on entertainment, though there is no doubt, that much ot it needlessly disappeared into the clutches of unscrupulous individuals. Several of the natives received debentures in part payment for the land, the Government hoping that they would use these at a future dqte, but the Maoris simply sold the debentures and spent the money at once. During the subdivision of the Orakei Mock many of the natives were employed in road-making, and proved to he excellent workmen. One or two •re still employed by the Public ilorks Department, but work on the Mock is almost finished, and they must ‘°ck elsewhere for employment. DIVISION OF OPINION At present the natives are holding ®*etings to decide where they shall m °ve to when they leave Orakei. A tentative offer was made some time

ago that they go north to Wairoa, on the Kaipara, but there is a division of opinion. Several of the families desire to go to an area near the coast at Waiuku. It is essential that they have some position near the sea in order to maintain a supply of fish and shellfish, both of which are staple articles of diet. So far no decision has been reached. It is believed that Judge McCormick, of the Native Land Court, will arrive in Auckland shortly, and that a decision will rest with him. RETURN OF LAND SOUGHT Some of the Maoris feel rather strongly about the present state of their affairs, and this is evidently being fermented by some person or persons in Auckland. One native stated that many of them think that they should have the land back again, but as the Crown owns the titles, and the Maoris have received full payment for their lands, this is obviously impossible. It seems to be poverty which has caused the trouble. One Maori, who evidently possesses more forethought than his fellows, rented an area of land from the Crown last year, and grew a large quantity of kumeras, which he portioned out to the destitute residents of the village. The young men of the village are willing to go anywhere for employment if it is offered to them. In the summer time many of the women work for the Chinese gardeners, digging kumeras and potatoes and generally assisting in the gardens on the Kohimarama Road. This brings further complications in its train, and raises the question of miscegenation. The Maoris who remain at Orakei are members of the Ngatiwhatua tribe, and they comprise the remnants of the Te Taou, Ngaoho and Te Uringutu sub-tribes. The Crown first began to purchase the Orakei block in 1910, and in 1912 the Orakei Model Suburb Empowering Bill came before Parliament. On that occasion the late Right Hon. Vv'. F. Massey said that he would 20 limes rather see the block pass into the hands of the Auckland people than into the hands of speculators, but he would sooner see the block remain unalienable. EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH The question of the Maori possession of Orakei has been the subject of exhaustive research by the late Judge Fenton and his findings are published in “Important Judgments of the Native Land Court.” In ISS2 the passing of the Orakei Reserves Act allowed the Maoris to lease their land if they wished to do so. Many of them did. In 1908 the Native Land Court partitioned the laud to the various Maoris. The question of sale and lease was discussed at great length in 1909 by the Orakei Native Parliament, and in that year the Maori Land Settlement Act removed all former restrictions made against, titles and Europeans began to buy the land. There is no reason for alarm by those who have purchased building sections on the Orakei block as the Crown has full possession of the titles. In all probability the question will come before Parliament this session in the form of a petition, when a final discussion regarding Orakei will be beard. The Native Land Court judges will also decide where the remaining natives will live in future. A prominent Auckland lawyer, who has been associated with business concerning the Orakei block, states that the only Maoris who might still get money are those who could show, by petition, that their names had been in a title but that they had been lefl out in the original award by the Native Land Court. This, however, was extremely unlikely. The question as to whether the 1909 Act, which gave the natives general power to sell the freehold of their property, over-rode the special Act of 1882 was decided in the affirmative by the Court of Appeal in 1913.