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Te Henga Marae
A return to the ancestral home of Te Kawerau a
Maki
Te Kawerau a Maki have a long and intimate
association with the Bethells/Te Henga/Waitakere
Valley area, which is their most significant area of
cultural association in the Waitakere Ranges and
their ancestral heartland. In pre-European times, it
was among the most intensively settled areas in the
region, being a strategic location midway between
the Manukau and Kaipara Harbours with abundant food
resources. Although they are no longer in permanent
occupation of their ancestral domain, Te Kawerau a
Maki are regarded as holding mana whenua over this
area.
For nearly 20 years the former Waitakere City
Council developed a policy framework that would lead
to the establishment of a marae for Te Kawerau a
Maki at Te Henga. A site at 240 Bethells Rd, located
to the rear of Te Henga Coastal Village and west of
the Lake Wainamu sand dunes, has been identified
since 1995 in the Proposed District Plan as a ‘marae
special area zone’ (see District Plan map D0 in the
District Plan Human Environment Maps). Funding
for this purpose was included in the Long Term
Council Community Plan (LTCCP) and the Annual Plan
over a number of years. The land was legally
acquired by the former Waitakere City Council in
September 2010.
On 28 July 2010, the Waitakere City Council resolved
in an open meeting to engage in the process of
declaring the land at 240 Bethells Rd (approximately
2.5ha) to be a Local Purpose Reserve (marae and
papakainga). The council’s intention was publicly
notified on 10 August 2010 and submissions closed on
13 September 2010. A commissioner was appointed to
hear and make decisions on the submissions received.
The commissioner approved the proposal that the land
become a Local Purpose Reserve (marae and
papakainga), “subject to the Council providing in
the proposed Deed of Lease, or any other agreement
entered into with Te Kawerau a Maki for the use of
the reserve, for the community to have the
opportunity for effective input into the type and
scale of the activities to be built on the site”.
A return to the ancestral home of Te Kawerau a
Maki
