One of the largest remaining coastal landholdings within the Ngāti Toa rohe is set to return to iwi ownership after more than seven decades in private hands.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira has secured the purchase of Pikarere Farm, a 740-hectare property stretching across approximately seven kilometres of coastline at Komangarautāwhiri on the western shores of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
The purchase is a major milestone in the iwi’s long-term aspiration of, hoki whenua mai, returning ancestral lands to Ngāti Toa ownership and stewardship.
Situated between Tītahi Bay and Ōhāriu Valley beneath Rangituhi, the property is regarded as one of the most significant remaining coastal landholdings within the rohe. It contains numerous wāhi tapu and sites of cultural significance.
Among them are pā, urupā, papakāinga and mahinga kai, including Komangarautāwhiri, Rukutane, Te Korohiwa, Wairere, Angapaua, Te Anapaura and Tutamaurangi Pā.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chair, Callum Kātene, said the purchase reconnects the iwi with a landscape that has long been central to its identity and history.
“The return of Pikarere to Ngāti Toa ownership is a significant milestone for our people. This whenua connects us directly to our tūpuna, our history and our responsibilities as kaitiaki. Securing its future within iwi ownership ensures that generations to come will maintain that connection,” Kātene said.
The purchase follows the iwi’s acquisition of the former 53-hectare Radio New Zealand site at Whitireia last year. It continues a broader programme of reclaiming and restoring stewardship over culturally significant whenua across the rohe.
‘Significance extends beyond ownership’
The property restores iwi influence over a substantial stretch of coastline and creates opportunities to protect cultural heritage sites while strengthening environmental and ecological restoration efforts.
“For more than 70 years, this whenua has been beyond the ownership of our people. To see it return to Ngāti Toa is a source of immense pride and a reflection of the aspirations held by generations who never lost sight of its importance,” Kātene said.
The iwi also acknowledged the work of whānau and previous generations who had maintained the vision of bringing the whenua back under Ngāti Toa stewardship.
‘Significant interest’: Sale price not yet disclosed
Pikarere Farm was placed on the market earlier this year for the first time in more than 70 years and was widely promoted as one of the country’s most significant private coastal estates. It had an RV of $10 million.
The property attracted considerable interest, including from expatriate New Zealanders seeking a rare stretch of undeveloped coastline on Wellington’s western edge.
The purchase price remains confidential, and settlement is not due until February 2027, when title will formally transfer to Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.
A long history
The coastal block forms part of a landscape long associated with Ngāti Toa Rangatira, containing important pā sites, urupā, papakāinga, customary fishing grounds and mahinga kai that have sustained generations of whānau.
Much of the land between Whitireia and Te Ara Taura was originally set aside as part of the Ngāti Toa reserve under the 1847 Porirua Deed.
However, subsequent Crown actions, surveying decisions and Native Land Court processes saw large areas pass out of Ngāti Toa ownership over the following decades.
By the early twentieth century, most of the coastline between Te Ara Taura and Tītahi Bay had been consolidated into private farming ownership.
Pikarere Farm itself traces its origins to Crown housing developments in Porirua during the mid-twentieth century. Land owned by the Stevenson family was acquired for state housing projects at Koangaaumu, Tītahi Bay and Tūtaeparaikete. In compensation, the Crown transferred more than 2,000 acres of former Whitehouse family land on the south coast to the Stevensons, forming the basis of what became Pikarere Farm.
The Stevenson whānau and Ngāti Toa always had a relationship, with the iwi continuing to access parts of the coastline for customary fishing and harvesting over many decades.
While the purchase secures the future ownership of the whenua, decisions about its long-term use are still to be made.
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira will wānanga with their uri to determine how the property can best fulfil the aspirations of the iwi and future generations when they take back the title in early 2027.
