6 September, 2018

Another multimillion-dollar land claim in Devonport

A multimillion-dollar settlement of a Maori land claim includes Takapuna Grammar, Torpedo Bay land, around 40 Navy houses and governance rights over coastal land at Fort Takapuna.

While not yet formally enshrined in law, a deed of agreement has been signed by the Crown and the Marutuahu Iwi Collective over the transfer of the properties, most of which have been under the control of the Ministry of Defence.

 

The properties to be offered to the collective include:

• nine houses and sections in Corrella Rd
• five properties in Egremont St
• 12 houses and sections in Tennyson Ave
• 15 properties in Alamein Ave
• 13 houses and sections in Montgomery Ave
• three clifftop properties (two houses and one vacant section) on Calliope Rd with a total value put at $3,387,690
• several houses and land on Lake Rd
• land at Torpedo Bay (where the Navy Museum is located), which is valued at $2.3 millon and will be leased back.

 

As part of the settlement, the land at Takapuna Grammar – valued at more than $18 million – will be sold to the collective, but leased back to the Ministry of Education.

The guardhouse at Fort Takapuna will also be vested with the Marutuahu iwi as part of a cultural redress package offered by the Crown.

The settlement redress between the Crown and the iwi includes a “statutory acknowledgement” to the Marutuahu Collective over the Fort Takapuna area.

It recognises the association between the iwi and the area and the ability of the iwi to collectively participate in “specified resource management processes”.

As far as the Fort Takapuna reserve goes, nothing will change for the public.

“Public access, recreational use, reserve status and existing third-party rights are maintained,” say documents attached to the settlement.

Legislation to ratify the settlement is expected in the next few months.

The settlement follows the massive Ngati Whatua settlement a decade ago, which saw 28.7ha of Navy landholdings sold to the iwi.

A number of developments are now taking place across the Devonport peninsula as a result.

Published in the September 7 2018 edition of Devonport Flagstaff. View online