Iwi and winery resolve Te Mata dispute
Craggy Range Winery and Nga¯ti Kahungunu iwi are going to buy 28 hectares of land on the eastern face of Te Mata Peak, close the existing controversial track, and build a new one.
The track, which was built late last year, sparked an outcry by the iwi and others, prompting the winery to later say it would remove the track.
But this month the winery said it was unable to remove the track and its favoured option was to have it remain.
That prompted Nga¯ti Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana to send an open letter to winery director MaryJeanne Hutchinson alleging iwi had been subjected to racist attacks and treated like ‘‘dumb savages’’.
Animosity between the parties now appears to have been completely resolved as Tomoana and Hutchinson, along with winery chief executive Mike Wilding, sat down together yesterday and signed the agreement that was supported by a number of families who own land on the eastern face of the peak.
A joint statement said the parcel of land they would buy ‘‘makes up a significant portion of the total eastern face of Te Mata Peak’’.
The land would be open to all and would be held ‘‘in trust for the benefit of the nga¯ uri o (descendants of) Nga¯ti Kahungunu and the Hawke’s Bay community’’.
It said the current track would be closed. There was no mention of whether or how it would be restored.
An ‘‘alternative and superior track’’ would be built but the statement did not say where this would be. It did say it would be ‘‘a spectacular track and will attract many visitors both domestic and international to this area’’.
And the statement said ‘‘despite the press there had been very good dialogue and willingness between senior Nga¯ti Kahungunu and Mana Whenua leaders and Craggy Range to reach a positive outcome for everyone’’.
The purchase would also allow the parties to construct a safe carpark at the beginning of the track.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the agreement was a positive outcome. She said the council would still undertake a cultural assessment and landscape assessment, and this would inform the work the winery and iwi were doing on the design of a new track.
Hazlehurst said ‘‘given the unique circumstances of the Te Mata Peak track and the intense public interest, it is likely that public notification will be required for the resource consent of a new track’’.