Story: Māori Land Court – Te Kōti Whenua

This 1890 photo shows the famous meeting house of Tamatekapua, at Ōhinemutu, Lake Rotorua. Behind the table are (left) Resident Magistrate Gilbert Mair and (centre) Native Land Court Judge Francis Dart Fenton. The meeting is discussing the sale of land which later became the spa town of Rotorua. However, the landowners, Ngāti Whakaue, did not understand that the deal would permanently deprive them of their land. In 1993, following a Waitangi Tribunal claim, they signed a settlement acknowledging their grievance.