Or— 6c

1942. NEW ZEALAND.

THE NATIVE PURPOSES ACT, 1941. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON PETITION No. 73 OF 1940, OF POUAKA WEHI AND OTHERS, CONCERNING THE MARAEROA C BLOCK.

Presented to Parliament pursuant ft? the provisions of Section 18 of the Native Purposes Act, 1941.

Native Land Court (Chief Judge's Office), Wellington C. 1, 28th September, 1942. Memorandum for the Hon. the Native Minister, Wellington. Maraeroa C Bdock. I transmit to you the report of the Court, made pursuant to section 18 of the Native Purposes Act, 1941, on Petition No. 73 of 1940, of Pouaka Wehi and others, concerning the boundaries of the Maraeroa C Block. In view of the Court's findings, T have no recommendation to make with respect to the petitioners' claims. G. P. Shepherd, Chief Judge. Office of the Tokerau District and Waikato-Maniapoto District Maori Land Boards and Native Land Courts, Auckland C. 1, 27th July, 1942. Memorandum for Chief Judge Shepherd, Native Land Court, Wellington. Maraeroa C Block : Petition No. 73 of 1940, op Pouaka Wehi and Others. The subject of this petition came before the Court for inquiry at Te Kuiti on the 10th and 11th July, when Mr. Elliott appeared for the Native owners and Mr. Meredith and Mr. Darby appeared for the Crown. On the second day, at the conclusion of the hearing, I inspected the two points of interest, Ngahuinga and Ngaherenga, in company with Mr. Elliott and several of the Native owners, but without any representative of the Crown. As a result of the hearing and the inspection, I have reached a definite conclusion that the petitioners are not entitled to the relief they claim. A brief history of this matter is that in 1891 the title to the Maraeroa Block was investigated by Judge Puckey. Three subdivisions of the block were claimed, Maraeroa C being one of them. This was ultimately awarded to the Ngati Rereahu Tribe. At the conclusion of the hearing as to the C subdivision, Pepene Eketone, who acted for the claimants, furnished a written statement in his own handwriting, of the description of the C subdivision. This appears on the file, and the translation is as follows:— " Starting at Ngahwinga (at Te Taumata) and running southwards to the source of the Paruho River and then following the river until it reaches the Ongarue and thence by this river until it strikes the west line of the block and then northerly by that line to the starting point." This description was prepared by Eketone, after a conference with his constituents, and it bears a marginal note by the Judge, in these words:— " These boundaries to be entered in minute-book to ensure correctness hereafter." I have not been able to find in the minute-book a transcription in the precise words given by Eketone, but in Waikato minute-book 28/118, the following description, apparently in the handwriting of the Court Clerk, appears :— " As to a small division of Maraeroa proper, Pepene gave the boundaries, viz. Ngaherenga, a hilltop on the road on the west boundary, thence south to the source of the Paruho Stream, thence by that stream to the Ongarue Stream, thence by that stream to the west of the boundary, thence north to the commencement."