A new whenua policy allows Waipapa Marae Trust to purchase waahi tapu

Te Arataura has been given the green light to bankroll the Waipapa Marae Trust to buy back property between the marae and the urupā that’s up for sale on the open market.  This follows Te Whakakitenga’s endorsement today of their Whenua Policy that allows Te Arataura to provide rural marae like Waipapa with the capital to buy back waahi tapu.    

Chair Cathrine Holland says the property runs adjacent to the marae urupā.  So the trust put up a proposal to Te Arataura to purchase the property that would allow the trust to extend and open a new urupā on the land if the deal was successful.

“Te Arataura endorsed our proposal a week ago with unanimous support to bankroll the trust.  But they couldn’t give us the green light until the whenua policy was passed.  The policy is based on the agreement that the cost of purchase of the land will be retrieved from Waipapa marae’s portion of the Wai 30 settlement fund, the treaty settlement for the Kāwhia harbour.  As the trust chair, I am now pleased to inform our marae beneficiaries, that we have the green light to go in and bid for the property.”

The marae cemetery, Te Upokoriri o Rangawhenua was closed in 2010 because the cemetery was full.  Cathrine says, since then our whānau have bought plots at the Pākehā cemetery or taken their tūpāpaku up to Tokitoki at Te Puti bridge.

“Now we’ll be able to open our new cemetery as an extension on the property with direct access from the marae rather than sending our whānau pani onto the main road to access the urupā.   

The whenua policy is the first of its kind and Cathrine acknowledges the policy will provide many of our marae with a mechanism to buy back waahi tapu which has historical significance for whānau .

“Waipapa is the tauira.  Te Arataura has given the marae trust the privilege of being the first to benefit from their new whenua policy.  This policy is the first of its kind and we’re extremely grateful to Te Whakakitenga and Te Arataura.  The art of this deal is to secure our waahi tapu for our marae beneficiaries.  But it’s also a tauira for our marae claimants to Wai 30 who wish to landbank their waahi tapu.  This whenua policy is a win-win for everyone”. 

Watch a short interview with Tuku Morgan