Central North Island iwi Ngati Apa is buying shares in a shopping mall complex in Whanganui in the wake of its Waitangi Treaty payout last year.
Based just south of Whanganui in the Rangitikei District, the tribe received about $15 million as part of its Treaty settlement with the Crown in 2011.
Ngati Apa Developments Ltd chairman Toko Kapea says the iwi has spent $2 million of that settlement on shares in the shopping centre, Trafalgar Square.
Revenue generated through monthly returns will go straight into iwi development.
It's a positive investment for his iwi because the property is structured to provide a continuing cash-flow.
Mr Kapea says Ngati Apa has not taken on any debt and is taking a passive approach in their first year with most of the money put into bank deposits.
Income from the shopping mall is being used to look after the operations of Te Runanga o Ngati Apa.
