Hundreds of unresolved taonga tūturu cases

Friday, 7 March 2025

A partial remains of a waka was found on Rēkohu Wharekauri Chatham Island in January 2025.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has a backlog of hundreds of unresolved cases of taonga tūturu, according to newly released documents.

Taonga tūturu are protected objects that are discovered and whakapapa to te ao Māori and embody mana (power), tapu (sacredness) and mauri (life force/essence). They can take many forms, from 800-year-old waka to early 20th century weaving.

The ministry has a responsibility under the Protected Objects Act to engage with interested parties, usually iwi and hapū, to develop recommendations for long-term ownership and custody for found taonga.

Interested parties have 60 working days to register a claim for ownership following the ministry’s posting a public notice about a taonga’s discovery.

As of December 2023 the ministry had a backlog of more than 500 unresolved cases for which ownership was yet to be determined because there had been multiple claims and discussion/mediation with claimants was required, according to a paper released to The Post under the Official Information Act.

Unresolved cases also include those in which the ministry received no claims on its public notice, or for which the ministry has received a single claim but has not yet progressed it to the Māori Land Court.

New data provided this week to The Post, shows that figure has slightly shrunk to 478 cases, not including new cases reported in the 2025 year.

An excavated partial remains of a waka found on Chatham Island in January 2025. A public notice on its website is live for interested parties to register a claim for ownership.

Of the unresolved cases, 174 involve multiple claims, 218 a single claim but were pending submission to the Māori Land Court, and in 95 cases no claim had been made.

In addition, there’s also a 30-year backlog of 5500 taonga tūturu that are in “prima facie Crown ownership” found between 1976 and 2006 under the Antiquities Act that predated the Protected Objects Act.

Under the former Antiquities Act there were neither processes for seeking ownership, nor an active responsibility on the Crown to manage cases.

According to the released paper, the backlog of unresolved cases has grown by an average 50 a year over recent years, due to the increasing rate of finds.

Taonga are being discovered at an increased rate because of a growing number of roading and other infrastructure and development projects; coastal erosion; and increasingly frequent severe weather events, through which taonga are physically uncovered.

In 2006, when the Protected Objects Act came into force, more taonga Māori came under the Act. It also put greater responsibility on the Crown to take active steps to legally repatriate found taonga tūturu to their true owners.

A local family on Chatham Island informed the Ministry for Culture and Heritage about the find of a waka in January 2025.

While the Antiquities Act empowered the Māori Land Court to hear claims of ownership for found taonga, the onus was on applicants (usually iwi and hapū) to lodge claims to the court (and to fund this process).

The amended Act reversed this onus, and placed responsibility directly on the ministry to undertake a process of establishing ownership, which officials described in the released paper as a “significant new workstream” which was not matched by an increase in funding.

Glenis Philip-Barbara, a spokesperson for the ministry, said the backlog was challenging for both claimants and the ministry, especially when there are multiple claims.

“This is a resource-intensive area of work as it requires specialised, personalised, and ongoing engagement to be successful,” Philip-Barbara said.

Regardless of the legal status of a taonga tūturu, the ministry always ensured the physical and spiritual safety and care of the taonga by working alongside interested parties including claimants, local iwi and hapū, and museum and conservation specialists, Philip-Barbara said.

When a taonga tūturu is found it is kept as close to its find location as possible with the willing support of local communities, iwi and hapū, local museums and universities.

The ministry provides financial and other support to iwi and hapū to look after taonga; and it also monitors the trade of privately-owned taonga tūturu and the registration of collectors.

Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith said like every government agency, the ministry had to work within limited budgets. He was keeping abreast of the issue.