Matariki Pā: Ancient site returned to local hapū after more than a century in private ownership

Friday, 10 July 2026

Matariki Pā, 45 hectares of land north of the Waiau Toa Clarence River, has been returned to Ngāi Tahu hapū Ngāti Kurī after spending more than 100 years in private ownership.

A significant ancestral pā site near the mouth of the Clarence River in Kaikōura has been returned to Ngāti Kurī, marking the end of more than a century of the land being in private hands.

The purchase of Matariki Pā — 45 hectares of land north of the Waiau Toa Clarence River — was finalised in June through Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura and the Murray family, who had owned the property since the early 1900s.

For Maurice Manawatu, kaumātua (elder) of Ngāti Kurī, a hapū of Ngāi Tahu , who has spent 15 years bringing groups of Ngāi Tahu to the site to share its history, the return carries profound meaning.

Maurice Manawatu, left, and John Murray, who have built a strong relationship over the last 15 years.

“The whole tribe is jumping for joy,” said Manawatu.

Matariki Pā, a coastal settlement, was established before European arrival. Manawatu describes it as the first footprint of Ngāi Tahu within what is now their takiwā, its origins tied to early movements between iwi in Te Waipounamu South Island.

The land was sold in 1856 before James Mackay, a key te reo-speaking mediator and assistant native secretary, negotiated the wider land sales of the region in 1859. The Murray family bought it in the early 1900s and held it for four generations.

The land had been in the Murray family possession for more than a century, but has now been sold to Ngāti Kurī.

“We never sold it. We never gave it away. It sort of somehow got sold under our feet,” Manawatu said. “That’s a story [for] another day.”

The return began with a phone call. About two years ago, Manawatu rang Robin Murray to arrange another group visit to the site — something he had done regularly and always with the Murrays’ welcome. “As long as when you open a gate, you close it behind you.”

This time Murray asked if Ngāti Kurī would be interested in buying it.

“Straight away, it was ‘yes’,” he said.

The most important thing from that point was connection with the Murrays. “We would meet up on the pā, have dinners, we’d talk, tell them the history, and slowly that connection grew over that.”

The purchase was made possible with support from Ngāi Tahu, which contributed half the cost. Manawatu would not disclose the price, but said: “I think we’re both happy.

“They have been great custodians of the land.”

The Murray family will continue to farm the land under a grazing lease of at least five years while the hapū decides its future. Discussions have included restoring traditional kūmara cultivation — the site once held about 18 hectares of gardens and more than 50 kūmara storage pits — and potentially rebuilding elements of the historic settlement.

“The land is priceless to me, because of the ancestors that lived there,” Manawatu said. “It’s not about really what you do with it. It’s about having it and being able to walk on it.”

A Matariki celebration planned at the site has been postponed due to flooding and road closures around Kaikōura following this week’s severe weather. Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura said a new date would be announced later in the month.