Story: Land ownership

Under the Native Land Court acts of 1862 and 1865, the courts were able to grant certificates of title to the ‘owners’ of Māori land. This law introduced the concept of absolute ownership into Māori society and made the transfer of Māori land possible. Because use of the land was often shared, the European concept of ownership brought about considerable confusion and conflict. These Ngāti Tūwharetoa women are waiting for a land court hearing at Tokaanu, near Lake Taupō, in 1914.