Making the Tenths Whole: From Redress to Opportunity
Making the Tenths Whole: From Redress to Opportunity This article was written by Te Here-ā-Nuku Trustee Hemi Sundgren for
“There are moments in our history that feel like endings. Signatures are placed, agreements reached, numbers settled. But every so often, those moments are not endings at all - they are thresholds. The resolution of Te Here-ā-Nuku, the Nelson Tenths, is one such moment."
Hemi Sundgren, Trustee
Te Here-ā-Nuku in 2026 | A time of transition
Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust was set up to hold and protect the land and compensation being returned, on behalf of the customary owners, as part of the historic resolution agreement signed with the Crown on 17 December 2025.
This year, the Trust is in a transition phase, focused on setting up the legal, strategic and operational systems and processes needed for the Trust to operate.
This requires ongoing engagement and work with our whānau, who are the beneficiaries of the Trust, on strategies to support its purpose – the wellbeing and advancement of the beneficiaries and region across the generations.
We are also continuing to work closely with the Crown to finalise the required legislation that will enable the whenua to be transferred to the Trust, noting it is already in our legal ownership.
As we develop the processes required to register Ngā Uri to the Trust, we ask whānau to complete our Contact and Connection form, to stay updated on the mahi taking place, engagement opportunities, and to receive direct updates from the Trustees.
If you have any pātai, please email info@makingthetenthswhole.co.nz
Nelson Tenths agreement signed | 17 December 2025
Descendants of the original owners of the Nelson Tenths will have land returned in Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay, and compensation paid, following a resolution agreement signed with the Crown righting an historic wrong.
Making the Tenths Whole: From Redress to Opportunity
This article was written by Te Here-ā-Nuku Trustee Hemi Sundgren for Te Puna, the quarterly update pānui of Ngāti Tama. Reproduced here with permission.
“The Tenths were never intended to function as a series of individually consumed benefits. They were conceived as a perpetual endowment – an intergenerational economic base that would produce returns over time, not be diminished by use. If we shift that purpose now … we risk undermining the very mechanism our tūpuna fought to secure.”
Reflections
We refused to accept injustice
By Kerensa Johnston | Mar 1, 2026 |
“We spent years speaking to people in all sorts of places, from Rotary Clubs to historical societies and business conferences. Basically, we’d talk to anyone who wanted to know the story,” writes Kerensa Johnston on the fight for the Nelson Tenths.
Resolution agreement | Q&A
Descendants of the original owners of the Nelson Tenths will have land returned in Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay, and compensation paid to cover the shortfall of land that was not able to be returned, following an agreement signed on 17 December 2025 with the Crown.
The agreement, signed in Wellington by Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins, plaintiff and kaumātua Rore Stafford, and Trustees of Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust, on behalf of the original owners, resolves Stafford v Attorney-General following more than 16 years of litigation and 180 years of fighting for justice by the original owners.
This agreement brings to an end the Nelson Tenths litigation, which was first heard in court in 2010.
This litigation centres on certain core Crown land in the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay area. The land (7,583 acres) includes approximately 6,177 acres of public conservation land.
Privately owned land is not affected by this litigation.
7,583 acres of land in the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay areas is being restored to Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust. Approximately 6,177 acres of this land is currently being managed by the Department of Conservation as public conservation land.
These sites include the Abel Tasman Great Walk coastal track, Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve, and other reserves.
As well as the public conservation land, the Crown has been using some of the land for education sites, a corrections facility, Land Information New Zealand tenants, and NZ Police.
The agreement transfers the land back to its original owners, but allows the Crown to lease some of the land currently being used for important public purposes. Both parties want to ensure the return of land will be as seamless as possible for the public, tenants and businesses using it.
There will be no changes to the operation of schools and the Abel Tasman Great Walk, there will be no changes for the public in accessing the Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve and wider conservation areas, and all bookings and access continue as usual.
The redress is comprised of land and compensation.
- Land: 7,583 acres of land will be returned to Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust, for the benefit of the original owners.
- Compensation: Te Here-ā-Nuku Trust will receive compensation of $420 million to cover the shortfall of land that was not able to be returned.
Pānui
‘Hugely positive’ agreement in long-standing private property case
‘Hugely positive’ agreement in long-standing private property case Resolution of breach of trust case rights historic wrong for
Whānau engagement opportunities | November/December 2025
Whānau engagement opportunities | November/December 2025 Thank you for your understanding with regards to the postponement of our recent engagement
Contact and Connection
Reconnecting whānau to whenua is integral to Making the Tenths Whole.
We are working to find and reconnect whānau who whakapapa to the Nelson Tenths and to empower them to learn more about their whakapapa and history.
