Te Ao Māori

Ngati Whatua strikes deal with Ryman

22:56 pm on 2 May 2014

An Auckland hapu has struck a deal with a retirement village operator to use a portion of tribal coastal whenua.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei is leasing land to Ryman Healthcare for 150 years. Retirement properties will be built on just over four hectares at Wakakura, near Devonport.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei Trust deputy chair Ngarimu Blair said the money earned from the lease would go into its education, housing, and cultural revitalisation projects.

He said the hapu retained the title to the land.

The whenua being leased is part of a larger block returned to Ngati Whatua o Orakei under its Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown.

Photo: SUPPLIED