Story: Law of the foreshore and seabed

Grant of seabed ownership document, 1845

The English common law assumption that the Crown owned the coastal waters and foreshore was implicit in this grant of seabed. It was given by Governor Robert FitzRoy to two members of the Legislative Council, Frederick Whitaker and Theophilus Heale. The grant allowed miners to follow a copper seam from land on Kawau Island into the sea.

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United Kingdom National Archives
Reference: CO209/60, folio 269

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How to cite this page:

Mark Hickford, 'Law of the foreshore and seabed - The English legal tradition', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/8524/grant-of-seabed-ownership-document-1845 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Mark Hickford, published 12 Jun 2006, updated 1 Jan 2015