Kōrero: Land ownership

Māori women at land court meeting, Tokaanu, 1914

Māori women at land court meeting, Tokaanu, 1914

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.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira
Reference: C466/M783 (34/35)
Photograph by Arthur Ninnis Breckon

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Jim McAloon, 'Land ownership - Māori and land ownership', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/17890/maori-women-at-land-court-meeting-tokaanu-1914 (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Jim McAloon, i tāngia i te 24 Nov 2008