In 1849 the paramount chief Putaki, invited Governor Grey to discuss the purchase of land in Southland on the understanding that �the larger area however must remain with us, the Maori people�. Mantell was commissioned by the Crown to purchase land which was south of the Otago block. Although he was instructed to provide sufficient Reserves for their needs and to consult with them, Mantell was also told to allow �such reserves as you think proper�. Given a free hand to provide Maori with as much Reserves as Mantell saw fit, and his past dealings with Ngai Tahu, did not bode well for southern Maori. When writing to the Colonial Secretary earlier in the year about his dealings in Canterbury, Mantell had written that �I allotted on an average of ten acres to each individual, in the belief that the ownership of such an amount of land, though ample for their support, would not enable the Natives, in the capacity of large landed proprietors, to continue to live in their old barbarism on the rents of an uselessly extensive domain.� Mantell met with the local leaders and gained general agreement to sell the land, but he refused to discuss a price. He sent the surveyor, Charles Kettle down to Southland the following year to mark out Reserves he had set aside (this was less than twenty acres per person), but it wasn�t until 18 months later that the first installment of money was paid. For 2600 pounds and only 4875 acres in seven Reserves, the Crown acquired title to over seven million acres. Finding of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1991 Several Reserves promised by Mantell were not made out to Maori. In addition, those that were made, were of insufficient size for their needs in 1860, let alone their future needs as directed by the Governor. A survey done in 1891 showed that only 8% of Southland Maori had sufficient land, while 42% had no land at all. The deed made it clear that Ngai Tahu were relinquishing all their �anchorages and landing-places, with the rivers, the lakes, the woods, and the bush, with all things whatsoever within those places, and in all things lying thereupon�. This is the exact opposite of Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi, and alienated them from not only their traditional food sources but also the prized greenstone. The Waitangi Tribunal was unable to accept that they would knowingly have given up all their future access to traditional food. As with other purchases in the South Island, the failure of the Crown to appoint a Protector to advise Maori (as directed by the British Parliament) was to Ngai Tahu�s detriment. |
| Murihiku (Southland) Purchase |