You will need 3 pieces of information to search for Māori land records:
- the owners’ names
- the block name
- the name of the Māori Land Court district where the land is located.
Finding the owners’ or shareholders’ names
The owners’ names or the names of shareholders in a block may be listed in:
- historic records like deeds, Crown grants or provisional registers
- land records held by the Māori Land Court or Toitū Te Whenua.
This can be complicated because in the past, many Māori used a couple of names, or were given an English version of their name. This means that Hone Paraone could be recorded as John Brown, Hone Brown or John Paraone.
Also, some tamariki took the family name of their māmā, but others used the first name of their pāpā as a surname.
Finding the block name
People often talk about having a ‘share in a block’.
A block is a parcel of land that’s described in a legal document called an instrument of title. Blocks were given a name by the Crown or the Māori Land Court when the title was granted. The block name is the most useful way to identify an area of Māori land.
You can search for block names on the Māori Land Court’s online portal Pātaka Whenua.
Pātaka Whenua - tā tātou tomokanga tuihono
Finding the Māori Land Court district
The Māori Land Court divides Aotearoa into 7 districts:
- Te Taitokerau (which has an office in Whangārei)
- Tairāwhiti (which has an office in Gisborne)
- Waikato Maniapoto (which has an office in Hamilton)
- Waiariki (which has an office in Rotorua)
- Tākitimu (which has an office in Hastings)
- Aotea (which has an office in Whanganui)
- Te Waipounamu (which has an office in Christchurch).
Some block names have been used in a couple of districts. For example, there is a block called Puketapu in Taranaki and one with the same name near Tūrangi. This means that it’s important to know which district the block is located in.
You can find the district in Pātaka Whenua.
Guidance to search the court record in Pātaka Whenua - Māori Land Court
Finding information from historic records
Historic records can help you find Māori land records.
Crown purchase deeds
When the Crown purchased land this was recorded in Crown purchase deeds. All deeds were signed by the owners and the Crown.
South Island purchases
Many of the purchases of South Island land covered large areas. Except for specified Māori reserves, the whole of the South Island was acquired from the Māori owners by the end of the 19th century.
The details of South Island purchases are reproduced in ‘A Compendium of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs in the South Island’. This was published in 2 volumes by Alexander Mackay in 1873.
North Island purchases
In the North Island, land was purchased in relatively small blocks.
Some North Island purchases are reproduced in ‘Māori Deeds of Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand’, commonly called ‘Turton's Deeds’. This was published in 2 volumes by H Hanson Turton in 1877.
Deeds held by Toitū Te Whenua
Some deeds are available on microfilm, and are organised by block name. These can be viewed at Toitū Te Whenua regional offices.
Crown grants
When the Crown purchased Māori customary land for settlement, it sold the land to Pākehā. From 1840 to the 1890s, these sales were recorded in Crown grants which gave the purchaser evidence of ownership. From the 1870s they were gradually replaced by certificates of title.
Most Crown grants cannot be copied, so these can only be viewed in person at Archives Wellington.
Archives Wellington - search for Crown grants
Provisional registers
When the Māori Land Court agrees to change Māori freehold land into general land, Toitū Te Whenua lists a new memorial on the title. Title orders generated by the Māori Land Court are usually still held by the court, and can be accessed by the public.
Each title order is given reference numbers, volume and folio, starting with ‘PR’ (such as ‘PR 12345’). You can use these reference numbers to search for records.
When land included in a provisional registration is surveyed and the relevant fee has been paid, a full title will be issued. Full titles used to be known as a certificate of title or computer register. The title will list the reference number the land used to have, with this PR number also noted in the memorial of any new title references arising from it (for example, if it’s subdivided). These records are available through Toitū Te Whenua.
Provisional registrations can also include memorials that refer to other information affecting the land or its ownership. This may help you find other land records. These memorials can be accessed through Toitū Te Whenua.
Understanding what was done to the whenua
The size, block name and ownership of land can change when:
- shares in the land are distributed
- the land is partitioned into 2 or more blocks
- blocks are consolidated into one
- Māori freehold land is changed into general land.
When you search for land records it can help if you know what has happened to land that was originally granted to Māori. You may be able to find this out from whānau, hapū or iwi sources, or historic records held by the Māori Land Court or Toitū Te Whenua.
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