16 Oct 2008

Bay of Plenty iwi sign Treaty agreement

12:03 pm on 16 October 2008

The Bay of Plenty iwi Waitaha has signed an agreement to resolve a Treaty of Waitangi claim.

An agreement in principle was signed with the Crown on Thursday morning at the Hei marae in Te Puke.

The Waitaha Raupatu Trust says the claim involves more than 100,000 hectares of land near Tauranga which was wrongly confiscated in 1865.

The trust says the settlement deal includes $11.8 million dollars in compensation, funding to restore the Hei marae and recognition of their ancestor, Hakaraia.

A separate agreement in principle with Ngati Makino is due to be signed at 1.45pm on Thursday at the nearby Otamarakau marae.