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Story: Law of the foreshore and seabed

Māori in the Kaipara

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Māori in the Kaipara

When Kaipara Māori demanded rent for the use of a shellfish bed in 1855, settlers resisted in the belief that the seabed was public land. In this watercolour of the Kaipara Harbour (in Northland) by William Fox, painted nine years later, Ngāti Whātua are clearly using the harbour for their own activities.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: WC-007-1

by William Fox

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Mark Hickford, Law of the foreshore and seabed – The English legal tradition, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/8526/maori-in-the-kaipara (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mark Hickford, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 January 2015.