Porirua-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira has retaken ownership of Kāpiti and Mana Islands. Photo: Nathan Ellen-Johnson/ 123rf
Porirua-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira has retaken ownership of Kāpiti and Mana Islands, 10 years after its Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown.
The islands lie off the southwest coast of the lower North Island and were aquired by the Crown last century.
December 31, 2024 marks the return of both islands to Ngāti Toa, in what the iwi described as an historic day.
It said the redress for Kāpiti and Mana Islands is reflective of the critical role the islands, Kāpiti in particular, played in establishing Ngāti Toa's mana on both sides of Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait).
"The vesting simply acknowledges what we already know; Ngāti Toa holds the mana of Kāpiti and Mana Islands and has done so since shortly after our ancestors arrived in the region, in the early nineteenth century", Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Board Chair, Callum Katene, said.
"The vesting is a legal mechanism agreed in our settlement legislation, but it is our tikanga that determines our responsibilities and relationship with these islands."
Kāpiti and Mana Islands were designated Nature and Scientific Reserves respectively, managed by the Department of Conservation.
The vesting of ownership does not impact the conservation status or management by the Crown.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik said Ngāti Toa will uphold its mana whenua obligations, care for the land under its control, and continue to work with the Crown to maintain the islands' conservation status as a taonga for all New Zealanders.
Modlik said Ngāti Toa also had big plans going forward.
"From 2025 onwards, we'll work with our own people to continue building relationships with both islands and the taiao through ongoing visits, learning about the history and stories of our ancestors".
Modlik said a work programme is also being developed by Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira for Kāpiti and Mana Islands to reconnect Ngāti Toa with Kapiti by creating a welcoming space for their tamariki, mokopuna, and future generations.
The iwi said while Tuesday, 31 December 2024 was being marked as a day of celebration for Ngāti Toa, it would be a muted and respectful occasion.
Porirua-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira will erect a Pou on Kāpiti Island in the coming weeks to mark its return - and that of Mana Island - into its ownership.
December 31, 2024 marks the return of both islands to Ngāti Toa, 10 years after its Treaty settlement with the crown.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira board chair Callum Katene said it was a wonderful day for the iwi, but it did not change its relationship with the islands.
"To be frank, our conneciton with our island is based on our tikanga, it's not controlled by a piece of paper written somewhere, but we view this as a confirmation of our connection," said Katene.
But he said it was still a time to celebrate.
"The settlement includes a one hectare area that we have the rights to do things on, so to mark this occasion we've got a Pou (carved pole) that we're going to erect, probably in the next week or so, and over the longer period we'll look at what we can do with that one hectare.
"Firstly, that acknowledges and cements Ngāti Toa's footprint there, but also is consistent with the conservation there and is welcoming for all the people of New Zealand," he said.
Katene said a wharenui or other facility may also be built on the site in time, but it anything ithe iwi did with the hectare would not impact on the restrictions that are in place to protect the Kāpiti Island as a nature reserve.
"It is such a taonga for the whole country, and we are determined that it will stay that way," Katene said.
"We're committed to contiuing the conservation paths - we've even had discussions with the appropriate Ministers about how we can increase our activity in that conservation area, to make it even better."
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