East Coast District Inquiry

The East Coast district inquiry (comprising at least 75 individual Wai-numbered claims), presided over by Judge Stephen Clark, encompasses the claimant groups who state an affiliation to Ngati Porou, Uepohatu, Ruawaipu, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, and other East Coast iwi and hapu. It covers an area from Gisborne in the south to just south of Cape Runaway in the north, and inland to the Raukumara Range and the Waipaoa River.

Main issues in the inquiry are likely to include: the East Coast 'civil war' of 1860–74; Crown and private purchases of East Coast land in the nineteenth century and the operations of the Native Land Court; Crown and private purchases in the twentieth century and land rating issues; the provision of social services; and environmental and resource issues.

The inquiry is at present in its research phase. The research casebook was due 18 December 2009.