This is the narrative of a piece of land in Te Tau Ihu – Aorere. It sets out how Judge Reeves dealt with an application for accretion and for determination of ownership, where ownership records had not been maintained for over 100 years.
Approximately 58 per cent of Māori land is currently held by governance entities provided for under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. The Māori Land Court receives on average 1,600 applications per year in relation to the establishment and management of trusts and incorporations.
In addition, there were requirements in Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and previous legislation for the transmittal of Māori Land Court orders as to title, which had not been consistently applied.