Wanganui

In 1988 the Whanganui River Maori Trust Board was constituted under the Maori Trust Boards Act 1955. The beneficiaries of the Board are the descendants and Hapu of Tama Upoko, Hinengakau and Tupoho. In addition to the functions conferred on the Board by section 24 of the Maori Trust Boards Act 1955, the Board shall from time to time negotiate with the Government, or any other body or authority concerned, for the settlement of all outstanding claims relating to the customary rights and usages of Te Iwi O Whanganui, or any particular Hapu, Whanau, or group, in respect of the Whanganui River, including the bed of the river, its minerals, its water, and its fish.

Taumata Hauora Trust’s values and beliefs are based on the four cornerstones of Tika, Pono, Maramatanga and Kotahitanga. These are underpinned by the Treaty of Waitangi and anchored by Tikanga Maori, and work under a Whanau, Iwi, Hapu, Ora philosophy.

Prior to 1860, Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi was a prosperous iwi in south Taranaki who engaged in extensive trade with European settlements. The settlement pathway followed by Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi involved a great deal of hard work and covered three centuries of research. Ngaa Rauru Tupuna dedicated themselves to working towards a settlement of grievances of Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi with the Crown. They struggled against both a Crown and a society that had little or no intention of either admitting, or attempting to try and address the wrongs committed against our people by the Crown. In more recent times, the Nga Rauru Iwi Authority, the Negotiations Team, Legal Advisors and others have been involved in the Settlement process undertaking a significant amount of hard work.

Welcome to the Morikaunui Incorporation website containing information of interest to shareholders and descendants.

Ngati Rangi is an ancient pre-migration iwi. The people emerged from the time of Maui as descendants of Moururu, an ancestor older than Kupe. Indeed it is from Kupe that the phrase was coined in relation to Te Kahui Maunga that the fires of occupation were already burning on his arrival. The tribal identity comes from Paerangi-i-te-whare toka (Paerangi) and is linked to the mountain region of the central plateau – Te Kahui Maunga. Ngati Rangi is bound primarily by three descendants of Paerangi: Rangituhia, Rangiteauria and Uenuku-manawa-wiri. On the arrival of Aotea, the intermarriages of their descendants with the people of Aotea, particularly Hau-nui-a-Paparangi built a close affiliation with the hapu that developed in the Whanganui river region. However, Ngti Rangi maintains a unique and independent identity within the region, as the first iwi to populate the mountain area of the central plateau and the Whanganui River basin.

The AWI was established in 1970 to take back (resume) 101,000 acres of land vested into the Aotea Maori Land Council by Whanganui Maori in 1903. However, in order for the Incorporation to take this land back it had, under imposed legislation, to purchase the improvements from lessees at the expiry of their leases. The opportunity to resume leased land only occurred at the end of a 21 years lease period, or when a lessee sought to surrender their lease early.