NGAITAHU CLAIMS

Southland Times, Issue 19458, 24 January 1925, Page 6

NGAITAHU CLAIMS

THE PROLOGUE ENDS. UNDISPUTED PEDIGREES PUT IN After marking time since Monday, the Native Land Court, which, under the Presidency of Chief Judge Jones, is sitting at Tuahiwi, near Christchurch, to decide the rights of applicants who wish to share in the grant of £354,000 made by the Government in consideration of the sale by the Ngaitahu tribe in 1848 of their vast South Island territory, was able to make a start on Thursday on its real programme. The rival Committees, whose difference on what constituted the necessary qualifications led the Judge to suggest a conference at which they should at least decide which whakapapas (or pedigrees) were indisputable, arrived at a settlement on this point yesterday morning, and the Court was occupied throughout the day in receiving the whakapapas. A list of 26, involving 514 claimants (parents, children, and grandchildren) was submitted, and of these two were challenged and laid aside for argument. Before this work began an application by Mr S. McDonald was made to have the names of Mr Taiaroa’s Committee recorded in the minutes of the Court. Mr McDonald stated that the Committee was representative of all the districts, and had been elected by the claimants. The Judge agreed to this. In reply to another question, he reiterated his earlier statement that at that stage he would confine himself to receiving such whakapapas as were not disputed, leaving aside all other questions, such as the boundary problem and the right of occupation claim, as well as the challenged whakapapas, until the first business was settled. HISTORICAL REFERENCES. During the day’s proceedings tribal history was occasionally quoted by representatives of each Committee. Mr McDonald mentioned that it was possible that the Ngaitalius could not claim right of occupation in the region of the Southern Alps, but it was not unlikely that such right could be established by the Ngatimamoes, who had amalgamated with the Ngaitahus. The Ngaitahu and Ngatimamoe elders, he stated, agreed that Ngatimamoe were the only people to inhabit and cultivate the foothills of the Alps. The Hon J. Topi, M.L.C., of Bluff, aroused some indignation by stating, while his whakapapa was being considered, that if it had not been for the Stewart Island Natives, Te Tauparaha, the famous chief, would have made slaves of the Ngaitahus. What helped to simplify the proceedings most was probably the appointment, of three expert genealogists by each Committee. For the Taiaroa Committee, which believes that ancesteral rights alone qualify claimants, Messrs J. M. Ellison, S. McDonald and J. Beaton acted, and the Pitamaa Committee, which contends that occupation as well as ancestral rights are necessary—that is, that the kaumatuas, or forefathers, of the claimants were in 1848 within the boundary of the area sold under the “Kemp Purchase,” as the transaction is referred to—were represented by Messrs Hone Matiu, S. Reuben and W. Karaitiana. These gentlemen were very active when the whakapapas were being handed in. They paid much attention to the “opposition” whakapapas, but it was noticeable that their keenness did not interfere with their sense of fair play. A rather amusing aspect of the formulation by various claimants of their whakapapas, indicating that Maori tradition is anything but on its last legs among the Ngaitahu, was brought to light when Mr Matiu gave it as his opinion that the whakapapas should be traced from Taupoutiki and Haarapaka, not from other kuamata. Many people, he stated, had been “trying to make themselves higher than the rest.” A HOT ATMOSPHERE. Intense heat, a dense crowd in the hall, and a heavy atmosphere all provided exemplary conditions for the exercise of judicial patience, especially with a tedious programme of preliminary formalities. Most of the audience could —and did—make occasional pilgrimages to the ice cream or soft drings stalls that abound at the hui, but the Judge, the Court officials, and various agents had to remain in a half-baked condition. Shortly after four o’clock a brief adjournment was made. It proved very welcome, and there was a shortage of ice-cream and soft drinks when the Court resumed. More whakapapas will be submitted, and before this week is out a start will probably be made on some of the contentious questions. The main dispute concerns descendants of Ngaitahus who were not in the area of the sale in 1848, and this effects most of those who are under canvas at the pa. Some of the visitors have already departed, satisfied with seeing the whakapapas in, and leaving the rest in the lap of the gods. There are several agents, each of w’hom is acting for a large number of absentee claimants, in addition to claimants who can afford the time and money to be present when their applications are being heard.