Ngāti Hāua will sign its Deed of Settlement -Te Pua o Te Riri Kore - with the Crown at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae, Taumarunui on Saturday 29 March 2025.

Significantly, the settlement will provide statutory pardons for two Ngāti Hāua tūpuna who were wrongly convicted in 1846 for rebellion against the Crown.

When fighting broke out in in the Hutt Valley in 1846, the Crown captured and court martialled Ngāti Hāua tūpuna, Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiatea. Te Whareaitu was sentenced to death and executed by hanging at Paremata (Mana). Te Rangiatea was sentenced to confinement for the rest of his life and died soon thereafter in prison in Wellington. Another five tūpuna were exiled to Australia. Through this Settlement, Te Rangiatea and Te Whareaitu will be pardoned for their convictions, and their character, mana and reputation upheld and recognised by the Crown.

Te Pua o Te Rire Kore also provides for the return of over 60 sites to Ngāti Hāua, financial redress of $20.4 million and a cultural fund of $6.1 million.

After initialling the Settlement on 21 November 2024, Ngāti Hāua sent out information to Iwi members and held information hui in Hamilton, Auckland, Rotorua, Taumarunui, Whanganui, Wellington and Christchurch to inform the Iwi members about the contents of the settlement and the ratification process.

Voting on the Ngāti Hāua Deed of Settlement finished on 7 February 2025 and was supported by 96.83 % of the voters. It can now be signed by Ngāti Hāua and Crown representatives at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on Saturday 29 March 2025.

Ngāti Hāua have invited their Iwi members and guests from other Iwi to participate in the Deed of Settlement signing ceremony and are expecting several hundred people to attend and witness the signing. All Iwi members present will be given the opportunity to sign the Deed of Settlement.

The Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Treaty Negotiations, will represent the Crown along with Hon Tama Potaka, Minister for Māori Development and Minister for Conservation.

Chair of Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust, Graham ‘Tinker’ Bell, says he feels a sense of peace.

“Finally our story can be heard, and the Crown now acknowledges the injustices that were inflicted on Ngāti Hāua,” says Bell. “Those injustices include being pushed out of Heretaunga (Hutt Valley) and the execution of our tūpuna, Te Whareaitu.”

“They also acknowledge the poisoning of flour used by our tūpuna which forced our people to resort to eating things like the mamaku tree to sustain ourselves. That kōrero has been passed down to us for generations, so we feel a sense of validation to have those things recognised in our Deed of Settlement,” says Bell.

Deputy Chair, and WAI claimant, Lois Tutemahurangi, expressed her gratitude for Ngāti Hāua’s leadership, past and present.

“We are grateful for their dedication in getting Ngāti Hāua to Settlement – it has been a long and arduous journey,” says Tutemahurangi. “We’re also grateful to all our Iwi members who voted for this positive outcome. We have an exciting journey now ahead of us as a people.”

Ngāti Hāua’s Negotiations Manager, Aaron Rice-Edwards says it is a significant step to restoring the relationship between the Crown and Ngāti Hāua. He says it also acknowledges the grievances of the past and provides a pathway of opportunity for the future.

“In 1866, our Ngāti Hāua tūpuna erected a pou called Riri Kore at one of our kāinga – Maraekōwhai – on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River. That pou symbolised the end of hostilities with the Crown (riri kore – no more war) and the commitment of Ngāti Hāua to work in partnership with the Crown. Now, nearly 160 years later, we finally see the fruits and blossoming of that commitment to peace – Te Pua o Te Riri Kore – enshrined within this Deed of Settlement.”

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