The purchase of Māori fishing rights in Lake Taupō

Paper delivered by Suzanne Doig at the New Zealand Historical Association Conference, University of Waikato, 5 December 1999

 
 

 

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∙ Summary

In recent times, mainstream New Zealand politicians have rejected the continuing existence of any Māori 'ownership' rights in rivers. However, in the early part of this century, New Zealand politicians and the courts frequently recognised Māori ownership rights in New Zealand lakes, and worked to purchase those interests and the associated fishing rights. The most famous of these purchases was that of the lake bed and fishing rights of Lake Taupō in 1926.

The circumstances surrounding the purchase of these rights in the lake reflected a number of issues which affect Māori resource rights to this day. In this case, legal and ownership matters generally took second place to social and political issues such as public and recreational access to waterways, commercial exploitation of traditional Māori resources, the establishment of Māori Trust Boards by the Crown to handle settlement payments, and fear of foreign control of natural resources.

Go to the whole text of the paper

 

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∙ Explore some related themes and contemporary issues

As the conclusion to the paper suggests, many of the issues raised by the acquisition of the fishing rights in Lake Taupō in 1926 still have relevance in the discussion of Māori fishing rights today. These links lead to some of the evidence which could be used to develop those themes in a contemporary context.

 

∙ Crown views of Māori property rights in waterways and fisheries

Sir Douglas Graham, former Minister of Justice and Minister for Treaty Negotiations, has spoken a number of times about Treaty settlements, the rights of Māori in inland waterways such as rivers and lakes, and the clash between those rights and the interests of the Crown:

Parliamentary debate on fisheries can be found in: The Waitangi Tribunal has also looked at the Crown's treatment of Māori rights in waterways in the following reports:  

∙ Māori legal rights in waterways and introduced species

The McRitchie case mentioned in the paper is the best examination of the history of Māori fishing rights in introduced species such as trout: The Court of Appeal hearing followed earlier cases in the District Court and High Court (not available online) One of the most important recent cases dealing with Māori property rights in waterways has been:  

∙ Maori Trust Boards, iwi authorities, and the administration of fishing rights

Several Māori Trust Boards were set up by the Crown to manage the money paid for the purchase of Māori property rights or compensation for earlier losses. Some trust boards and other iwi authorities continue to administer Māori fishing interests:  

∙ Pākehā recreational groups and their views of Māori property rights

Many mostly Pākehā recreational interest groups retain a keen interest in the settlement of Māori grievances and Treaty claims, especially when those settlements might impact on the activities of their members:

 
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