By Virginia Winder

Te Atiawa elder Jim Bailey was prepared to let go of the Pekapeka Block - but not the leasehold land within it.

The Owae Marae board of trustees chairman, who died on 1 February 2004, said the controversial 600-acre (243-hectare) block on the south side of the Waitara River had been the subject of debate for many years.

"That's an issue that's been around so long - it's been brought up and thrown out, brought up and thrown out," he said of past land court hearings.

The issue surrounds whether Te Atiawa man Te Teira had the right to sell the land to the Crown back in the late 1850s.

While many historians, academics and tribal members say "no", Mr Bailey said people needed to look at all sides.

"He had the right up to a point," he said of Te Teira. "They (his followers) were land owners too. A lot of these people had a right as much as anybody else. That's where it gets a bit confusing. Our people lived on the land and it was free grazing and when you are on the land, you feel it's yours."

But in reality, that was not the case. "The chief has the right to sell the land and the people living on it; they go with it. The law is the chief, eh?"

Te Atiawa paramount chief of the day was Wiremu Kingi te Rangitāke - and he was totally against selling the land.

Mr Bailey believed everybody had the right to argue the point, but he said it was time to let the Pekapeka Block rest in peace.

"Was the land sold? Was the land paid for? What I look at is our tupuna (ancestors) lived through it, went through the pain and our tupuna died for it."

He said people were trying to resurrect the Pekapeka Block. "As far as I'm concerned, it's gone. It's happened in the past."

But the Waitara endowments were another story. Mr Bailey believed the 179.71 hectares of lease land was worth fighting for.

He said the Crown gifted pieces of confiscated Waitara land to the Waitara Borough Council and Taranaki Harbours Board. Only half of the endowment land was within the Pekapeka Block.

"The harbours board, they needed land. They were going to build the harbour here," Mr Bailey said.

The port in Waitara was built and, initially, it was in high use for industrial purposes. Over time the wharves became used less and less and in 1940, the port was officially decomissioned and the Waitara Harbour Board disbanded. However, the land was kept to fund a bridge over the Waitara River, the prevention of erosion of the river and loan repayments. The borough council also used its endowment land to fund town improvments.

In 1989, when local body amalgamations came into effect, the endowments were transferred to the New Plymouth District Council.

"This land, I think it should go back to the people - Te Atiawa," Mr Bailey said.

"A lot of blunt words have been said (about the land). It's been stolen, if you want to put it that way," he says.

While he had wanted a settlement on the Waitara endowments and had been keen to see the land returned, Mr Bailey had a final word of caution for his people. "We are saying 'don't sell your land'."

He understood that people needed money to live, but warned: "At the end of the day, the land will always be there, but the money just evaporates and will be gone ... and the next minute you have got nothing. Be thankful for what you have got."

The Waitara leasehold land has been the subject of a series of high-profile hearings this year. On 12 August 2004, the New Plymouth District Council voted 13-3 to return the land to Te Atiawa. A final decision about the future of the land has yet to be made.

This story will be updated as more events come to hand.