The new chief judge of the Maori Land Court has been sworn in at his home marae in Tokomaru Bay north of Gisborne.
Waatea News reports about 300 people were at Pakirikiri marae to see Wilson Isaac from Te Whanau o Ruataupare, Ngati Porou, Tuhoe and Kahungunu take up the role as the 16th chief judge of the court.
Tracey Tangaere, the court's new national director, says it was familiar territory to the judge, who worked as a barrister and solicitor in Gisborne until his appointment to the court in 1994.