Land Development

Te Ao Hou, May 1957, Page 49

Land Development At the very beginning of the investigation as to the best means to be employed in the settlement of Maori lands by Maoris, it was soon found that the root difficulty was the character of the communal title as evolved by the Maori Land Court. In the course of time successions and inter-marriages have congested the titles. The difficulties of titles with its multiple ownership and ponderous methods in getting a title in severalty have always been obstacles in the way of the Maoris obtaining financial aid to farm their own lands. It was not until 1929—nearly 90 years after the Treaty of Waitangi—that Parliament assumed direct financial responsibility for a policy of encouraging and training the Maoris to become industrious settlers under the Government's direction and supervision. It was the scheme Sir James Carroll, Sir Apirana Ngata, Sir Maui Pomare and Sir Peter Buck and other leaders of the Maori people pleaded for 38 years earlier. The main features of the scheme were these: 1. To overcome delays in difficulties arising from the nature of the land titles, the Minister of Maori Affairs was authorised to bring such lands under the scheme. The difficulties as to title were literally stepped over and the development and settlement of the lands made the prime consideration; 2. The funds for development were provided by the State and were extended under the supervision of Government officers; 3. Private alienation of any land within a scheme was prohibited; 4. The jurisdiction of the Maori Land Court in all matters affecting title of land brought under the scheme other than succession and trusteeship of persons under disability was exercisable only with the consent or at the instance of the appropriate Government Department. The main aim was the training of Maoris to be efficient farmers in the course of developing their lands and to assist them when they settled down to the business of farming. The future historian will have to pass judgment on the soundness or otherwise of this far-reaching policy. Those who formulated the policy helped to shape the canoe for its, fateful voyage and heartened them on with cries reminiscent of the old time sea shanties of their race. The Maori knew that he was being driven back to the last stronghold of the culture and individuality of his race and so the policy had an appeal that enlisted the goodwill and self-sacrificing support of Maori leadership and evoked from the rank and file of development workers an enthusiastic and gratifying effort. On the financial side, this support has been remarkable. From 1930 to 31st March, 1956, the gross expenditure on Maori land development schemes reached £23 ½ million. The receipts up to that date were £18 million. It will therefore be seen that the debt amounts to £5 ½ million. Of the total 4,000,000 acres of Maori land, some 2 ½ million acres are estimated to be useable for farming. Of this area, approximately 1,100,140 acres are leased to Europeans, 473,248 acres are under departmental control, 39,000 acres are under control of the Maori Trustee, 498,000 acres are farmed by individual Maoris or by major incorporations, and 460,000 acres are lying idle. As at the 30th June, 1956, there were 473,248 acres of Maori owned land gazetted under Part XXIV Maori Affairs Act 1953. Of this area, 25,623 acres were embodied in the 1956 development schemes in the course of development, and the balance of 220,625 acres were occupied by 1,351 farmers who are at present under the control of the Department. The production and the stock carried on all schemes under development unit farms and Maori Trust stations as at the 30–6–56 were as follows: Bales of wool 7,220 Butterfat produced 4,579,533 lbs. Total number of sheep carried 297,172 Total number of beef cattle carried 29,676 Number of dairy cows and other dairy stock = total of 65,499