kī au i nohoia anō tēnei poraka e aku tūpuna: I repeat, these are my ancestral lands

As one of the 5th generation mokopuna of its original owners; this research project on the Māori land block Pīrau, has been carried out with a deeply personal approach. This land block once covered 3,717 acres between Ōmāhu and Mōteo, two Māori settlements situated north of Hastings in the Hawke‟s Bay district. This block was passed down the generations from Tūrauwhā to Hikateko and continued until the 1888 Māori Land Court hearing and the subsequent rehearing of 1890, to determine ownership. The block was divided into 3 sections and each section awarded to 3 separate groups based on occupation and ancestry. Today, the name Pīrau is one of the past for it was sold two years after the rehearing. This research looks at the history of Pīrau, focusing on key tīpuna. It also investigates how legislation impacted on Pīrau and possible reasons why it was ultimately sold.

Despite my whānau having no rights whatsoever to this land today, I am still keen to share this research and re-affirm the above statement of my own tipuna kuia, Wiramina Ngāhuka, at the commencement of a number of Māori Land Court hearings she gave evidence at during the late 1800s; „I kī au i nohoia anō tēnei poraka e aku tūpuna.‟