History

All waka with Ngāpuhi whakapapa – landed in Hokianga and spread out from there. So it is that we Ngāpuhi claim a tribal area whose boundaries are described in this whakataukī: “Te whare O Ngāpuhi, Tāmaki Makaurau ki Te Rerenga Wairua. Ko ngā paatu ko Ngāti Whātua, Te Rārawa, Te Aupouri, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāpuhi ki roto. Ko ngā Rarangi Maunga nga Poutokomanawa
i hikia te Tahutu o Te Whare O Ngāpuhi.

The Utakura lands were traditionally used and occupied by several hapu including Te Popoto, Te Ihutai, Te Honihoni, Ngahengahe, Ngāti Toro, Whānau Pani and Ngāti Hao The native land court began investigation of the ownership of some 8000 acres from 1894 and the lands were split among different claimant groups in 1895.

Partitioning began soon after this time. A series of partitions and alienations took place over the following 60 years. The Utakura Valley was a thriving dairy farming community through until the early 1960s, with nearly 800 cowls being milked on small whanua farms. With the entry of Britain to the EEC in 1962, dairy farming declined eventually being unviable as small scale operations and many Utakura families were forced to leave for the cities to find employment. This coupled with increasing successions to shares and the partitioning of land blocks led to a growing fragmentation and the underutilisation of land.

The Utakura Corporation was set up in 1968 promoted by the Maori Affairs Department bringing together a number of land blocks under one title, the aim being to create an economy of scale and economic development.