PURCHASE OF ROTORUA

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 207, 29 May 1936, Page 12

PURCHASE OF ROTORUA

Native Owners’ Grievances Against Crown COMPENSATION AT £7155 RECOMMENDED The report of the inquiry by the Native Land Court into petitions by natives praying for relief in resiiect of the administration and subsequent purchase by the Crown of the Pukeroa Oruawhata block (town of Rotorua.) was tabled in the House of Represent,-!, tives yesterday. 3 The first petition, dated 1928, alleges that the native owners of the block were entitled to bath fees received by the Crown in respect of the reserves for thermal purposes at Rotorua on the ground that the land had not been paid for; that £17,868 back rent due in respect of the township had not been accounted for; that the consideration of £8250 mentioned in the deeds of purchase for the Rotorua township was quite inadequate; and that the relative interests of the owners had never been validly defined. At the inquiry held by the court in March and April, 1930, it was admitted on behalf of petitioners that the thermal reserves were a gift by the natives to the Crown for the public benefit. Petitioners therefore made no further claim to the bath fees. The. second petition, which was made in 1034, alleged that the purchase of the town by the Crown was a breach of trust, that the sale should be declared null and void and the land revested in the native owners, or, alternatively, that compensating damages should be paid to the owners. The petition incidentally referred to the income received from the baths to show that it. totalled more than the sum paid for the acquisition of the township. It also questioned the validity of the relative interests. The court finds that the allegations that certain rents could, with reasonable. diligence, have been collected on behalf of the natives, and that the township was purchased at less than its real value are to a certain extent proved. The inquiry was held before the chief judge and his recommendations are contained in the report. Summed up, they are that the grievances of petitioners, for which they have no legal redress, might fairly be met and compensated for by a cash payment of £7155. being £3155 in respect of the leases and £4OOO in respect of the purchase. The report was referred to the Native Affairs Committee of the House.