News May 2008

Dear Friends, welcome to our first newsletter of 2008.

We now have a beautiful logo designed by Deborah Jennings of the Mackie family. The Koru and the kowhai represent Maori and Pakeha working together, surrounded and protected by the two dolphins representing friendship. The hill behind is Whitiroa, the knoll that marks the southern boundary of Otito Reserve.
It has been a busy start to the year with ongoing work to have the Otito Boundaries restored, a beach cleanup at the end of the summer season, fund raising on Perfect Day and an Environmental Field Day held last month in the school holidays (with a live kiwi).

Otito Reserve - an UPDATE

Friends of Matapouri and Te Whanau O Rangiwhakaahu Hapu Charitable Trust have been working with our legal team (Henderson Reeves Connell Rishworth of Whangarei) since October 2007 to have the boundaries of Otito Reserve restored to ML3903 - the original survey done in 1877. We have since found out that the boundary changes occurred with the deposit of DP 199214 in 1999. As a result some 1.1 hectares of land was incorporated into the Certificate of Title for the adjoining land, and became privately owned.

Subsequent subdivision applications have been considered and approved by the Council on a non-notified basis and they have issued the required certificates under sections 223 and 224 of the Resource Management Act 1991.

The Hapu Trust lodged a caveat (23/11/07) that has prevented any further dealings with the land. Our lawyers have vigorously pursued our concerns with LINZ (responsible for title register) and the Department of Conservation (responsible for looking after the Reserve). DOC also now have a caveat lodged.

A great deal of work has gone into convincing DOC and LINZ to take this issue seriously. We are now hopeful that all parties concerned will attend mediation in mid to late June to ascertain whether the southern boundary as depicted on DP199214 is an accurate representation of ML3903. And if not whether the parties can agree to take the necessary steps to have the boundary and subsequent title corrected.


Some of our supporters on the day the digger was brought in	The digger that was brought in to dig a trench besides Whitiroa

Download the May Newsletter here - PDF file

FoM logo
Our new logo

Timeline of Events

January 2008
2 FoM has an information stall at Gala Day
4 FoM fundraising trip on ‘Perfect Day’
5 Public Meeting re Otito, lawyer attends
9 FoM organises clean-up and rubbish pickup on beach front and estuary

27 Jan FoM and Hapu Trust meet with Conservator, DoC at Matapouri Marae to discuss Otito.

February 27 Protest to stop registered owners of the land in dispute from using a digger to dig a 5m deep trench beside the wahi-tapu, Whitiroa. Registration of wahi-tapu of Otito with Historic Places Trust applied for. DoC as caretakers had failed to do this.

March 2008
4 Hon Winston Peters, NgatiWai descendant, asks question in the House re Otito to Hon Steve Chadwick Minister for Conservation
14 Geotechnical survey of southern boundary to establish evidence of streams. DoC, FoM, Hapu Trust members and registered owners attend.

Members of FoM and the Hapu Trust have collectively and individually lobbied; Ministers of the Crown, Minister of Conservation, Minister of Environment, DoC and LINZ since November 2007 to bring this issue to their notice.

Last updated: August 15, 2008