8/19/08

Maori group puts up Pou Whenua on Stolen land




A Northland Maori group has erected pou, or boundary markers, on disputed beachfront land at Matapouri.

The group is taking action in the High Court against the Department of Conservation, the Department of Land and Survey Information and the Attorney-General in a bid to have the land designated a reserve.

Te Whanau o Rangi Whakaahu say they sold the Otito Block to the Government in 1970 as a scenic reserve in the belief that reserve status would safeguard it for all time.

However, they say part of the land was wrongly included in a freehold title by private survey in 1999.

The hapu says the five manuka posts it has erected on the land are to
make a statement, and watch over wahi tapu.

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