ORAKEI PETITION

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 873, 17 January 1930, Page 11

ORAKEI PETITION

MAORIS REQUEST RETURN OF LAND COURT ADJOURNS CASE The petition by 16 Maoris praying the return of their papakainga (homesite) area and a church site at Orakei is to be heard in March by the Tokelau Native Land Court at Auckland. The case was called yesterday, but in the afternoon, an adjournment to a date toward the end of March was made. Judge F. O. V. Achesou i>resided, and it was explained that an earlier date could not be arranged owing to a pending visit by the judge to North Auckland, and a sitting of the Supreme Court. Hira Pateoro and 15 others have presented the petition to Parliament. The date to the petition is February 14, 1928. The natives are seeking the return of the papakainga as a home for themselves and their descendants and also a piece of land which was given to the Church as a school site. The area affected, probably 40 acres, comes under the town-plauning scheme at Orakei for a recreation reserve. Land fu the area known as Orakei Block was originally about 640 acres in extent. Mi-. V. R. Meredith and Mr. O A Darby appeared for the Crown when tile case was called, Mr. J. J. Sullivan represented the natives, and Mr. C. P. Newton was interpreter.