The urupa site that will be given back to Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke. Photo: SUPPLIED / CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
An urupā (cemetery) in Canterbury's Banks Peninsula will be handed back to local iwi following more than a century of talks between hapū and local authorities.
In a historic decision, community leaders voted unanimously to revoke the reserve status of the site at 177 Pūrau Avenue, and return it to Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke.
Submissions were heard ahead of the landmark vote during a Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board meeting at Christchurch's Te Hāpua-Halswell Centre on Monday.
A Ngāti Wheke representative, who delivered an impassioned plea to the community board, said hapū had been locked in a struggle to try to return ownership of a site where many of the hapū's ancestors had been buried.
One of the graves at the site. Photo: SUPPLIED / CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
Speaking to her submission, Gail Gordon said opposition to the proposal was difficult to comprehend, described as "novel interpretations of Māori land ownership".
"All I can do is tell you my whānau's story and hope that this time you will do the right thing."
As she acknowledged the fifth anniversary of her father's passing, Gordon became emotional when she pointed out how the urupā at Pūrau had been treated.
"The stark contrast between the final resting place of our father, and other whānau in our urupā at Rāpaki, and the way we care for it, compared to the conditions our tupuna lay in at Pūrau is jarring and downright disgusting.
"This is an urupā, the final resting place of real people...real people who deserve to have their final resting place recognised, acknowledged and respected, just like every other urupā and cemetery in Aotearoa."
Gail Gordon making an impassioned plea to the Banks Peninsula Community Board on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Adam Burns
According to the Christchurch City Council's report, the site was part of a larger nine acre block of land, established in 1870 as a "Māori Reserve".
The land was sold into private ownership in 1914 and later subdivided in 1950.
In the ensuing subdivision process with government officials, the urupā was not officially recognised, despite the landowners' desire for it to be.
"The incongruity of that action was not recognised at the time and has persisted through history to this day," the report said.
Church Bay resident Sarah Pritchett said the land lost to mana whenua was down to "dubious" government legislation at the time.
"It seems a very small thing to me to hand back this tiny piece of land, that is all that is left of a much larger piece of Māori reserve land.
"This is an example of a deliberate government policy to acquire Māori land for the benefit of Pākehā settlers.
"It is no accident that the Pūrau Māori Reserve ended up being owned by private non-Māori owners."
Majority in favour
More than 96 percent of the 378 submissions were in favour of the proposed transfer, with 2.3 percent against and 1.1 percent unsure.
Pūrau resident Thomas Kulpe was one of the few against the proposal, instead feeling the land should be reclassified as a "historic reserve", allowing for the retention of the land as a public open space.
Fellow residents Nigel Gualter and Kristy O'Connor also favoured this option, feeling there was inadequate information on the future management plans of the reserve.
City councillor for the Banks Peninsula ward Tyrone Fields said it was a "unique privilege" to be part of such a significant decision.
"There's been no shortage of consultation for the community on this.
"A hundred years give or take of bureaucratic mis-steps, misunderstandings, misrepresentation, or just missing the point, that's caused a lot of heartache and heartbreak.
"Now the bureaucratic stars are aligned and finally get to a stage where we can address some of the errors of the past."
