1873 Fragmentation of Māori land ownership

The Native Land Act 1873 allowed the Native Land Court to fragment land ownership among Māori. Instead of having 10 names listed as owners and the rest of the tribal group missing out, everyone with an ownership interest was now to be put on the title. Conceived as a way of recognising tribal ownership, it did not individualise land ownership but fragmented it. Individual Māori were not given blocks large enough to support themselves in the way Pākehā farmers could, but instead they received shares in blocks that were then partitioned and repartitioned into uneconomic segments at great time and expense, especially given the cost of surveyers and lawyers. This, and the ordinary costs of living, pressured many into selling their interests. Although intended to slow land selling, purchasers (both Crown and private) resorted to secretive methods, such as paying advances to numerous individuals, sometimes for years, before appearing before the Court and claiming the percentage of the block corresponding to their proportion of the shares. The effect upon Māori was disastrous. This fragmentation has bedevilled Māori land ownership ever since, making it extremely difficult to borrow development funding or utilise much Māori freehold land productively. A Repudiation Movement at this time, driven by a resurgence in rūnanga (council) or tribal management, aimed to repudiate or obtain compensation for bad land deals.