Kaikoura History - The Kaikōura Purchase
By 1859, the demand for land by European settlers resulted in a government purchase of the Kaikōura District. Mackay Jr. was sent to secure both the West Coast and the Kaikōura blocks from Ngāi Tahu. Mackay wrote to Kaikōura Whakatau at Mikonui, inviting him to discuss the purchase of the land.
"…Mackay found that under the seasoned and capable Kaikōura Whakatau they [Ngāti Kuri] were far from passive towards European encroachment on their lands. Maintaining their rights in their rugged country, with its towering mountains, fertile coastlands and rich sea fisheries and shellfish beds, was a matter of mana – a combination of duty and pride."
Most of the land that Ngāti Kuri claimed customary title over (from Te Parinui o Whiti to the Hurunui) had already been sold or leased to settlers by the Nelson Land Office. For example, Ngāti Kuri had requested a large pastoral reserve between the rivers Kahutara and Tūtaeputaputa (Conway), which was refused – because the land in question had already been leased to three run holders.
Early resistance by Ngāi Tahu to the sale of their lands was met with steady pressure until an agreement was finally signed between Ngāi Tahu and Commissioner MacKay. Mackay finally got Kaikōura Whakatau and others to sign the Kaikōura Deed at Fyffe's house on 29 March 1859. The deed conveyed the Māori title in the million-hectare block to the Crown, in return for a payment of 300 pounds and the provision of some coastal reserves.
The largest reserve, at Waipapa and Mangamaunu, was a long coastal strip of about 4 795 acres that Ngāti Kuri wanted to maintain access to seafood and fishing grounds, and because of the karaka groves there.
Ref: Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura (2005). TE POHA O TOHU RAUMATI: Te Mahere Whakahaere Taiao o Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura 2005/Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura Environmental Management Plan 2005.