Background
The Ngāti Tūrangitukua Claims Settlement Act was passed in 1999 and led to the return of ancestral land in the Tūrangi area to the Ngāti Tūrangitukua hapu. This land was taken by the crown for the construction of the Tūrangi township under the Public Works Act 1928 and the Tūrangi Township Act 1964.
While most of the reserves in Tūrangi are owned by Ngāti Tūrangitukua Charitable Trust, council is required to maintain any land categorised as a reserve. This means keeping the reserves clean, mowing the grass and looking after sports fields, playgrounds and the skate park while enhancing the special relationship that Ngāti Tūrangitukua has with their whenua.
All recreation reserves must have a reserve management plan
that sets out how each reserve will be managed so they can be enjoyed and
protected now and in the future. This includes Council administered parks and sports
fields. This may also include reserves with a recreation use like grassed
alleyways that provide walking access between streets. It does not include the grass berms
on the side of the road, or places where there is council infrastructure such
as stormwater gullies and pipes.
Ngāti Tūrangitukua has a special relationship with this land which is reflected through hapu mana whenua, their roles as kaitiaki and as the legal owner of the whenua. Some of these reserves are waahi tapu (sacred areas) and it is important that the values of Tūrangitukua are reflected in creating the most suitable reserves management plan for the people that use Tūrangi’s reserves.
