Promise to remove canoe eases row over domain

Press, 21 July 1988, Page 14

Promise to remove canoe eases row over domain

By JANE ENGLAND Maori affairs reporter A land row which threatened to erupt into violent confrontations has been settled with the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board promising to remove a canoe and shelter from a site in Okains SayTension over the issue had been escalating since the shelter was erected in May without the permission of the Okains Bay Reserves Domain Board. The action led the board to threaten legal action against the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board unless the canoe and building were removed.

The trust board’s lawyer, Mr David Palmer, yesterday said that a harmonious meeting had since been held between the two boards. The issue was not one of racism as had been suggested by some Okains Bay residents and workers on the site, he said.

“Basically local enthusiasts just got on with the

job and did not apply for the consent of the domains board,” he said. Mr Palmer would not identify the “enthusiasts.” The Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board had not been administering the project, he said.

“The trust board will now step in and ensure that whatever goes on complies with the law. The domains board has taken the view that there are certain rules contained within the Reserves Act and those rules must be obeyed. ' “They do not want the canoe or shelter on the site and we are happy to comply with that.” The land was a domain under the Reserves Act and had been designated as an open space for the benefit of the public, Mr Palmer said. The situation had been complicated by the land being leased by a local resident, Mr Murray Thacker. "But the terms of the lease allowed for grazing

only and did not permit buildings to be erected,” said Mr Palmer. The canoe and shelter would be removed by August 22 and erected on another site, Mr Palmer said.

He did not know how the Access trainees would be affected by the move. "Presumably they will continue working on the new site.”

That site would probably be situated within Okains Bay, he said.

“But I know the trust board has had a number of invitations to take the canoe to other bays. There are a lot of people who would be happy to have it in their area and see it as a tourist attraction.”

The deputy chairman of the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board, Mr Henare Te Rakiihia Tau, said he would be discussing another site in Okains Bay with the director of the Okains Bay Maori and Colonial Museum, Mr Thacker.