This Government bill gives effect to the Ō-Rākau deed of agreement (31 October 2023) so the record of title for the site is held in the names of the ancestors who fought at the battle of Ō-Rākau, with Maniapoto, Raukawa, and Waikato jointly holding the owner's rights and obligations. It was enacted as the Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Act 2025.
This Government bill (Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara) gives effect to a deed of agreement recognising the Ō-Rākau battle site near Kihikihi, where the 1864 Battle of Ō-Rākau — remembered as "Rewi's Last Stand" — was fought during the New Zealand Wars. It vests the land in the names of the tūpuna (ancestors) who fought and died there and provides for the site's protection and remembrance as a place of memorial, Te Pae o Maumahara. It affects the descendant iwi and hapū and the wider public understanding of the Wars.
The bill arises from negotiations between the Crown and the hapū and iwi descended from those who fought at Ō-Rākau. Described neutrally, its purpose is to acknowledge a historically significant event, return the site to ancestral ownership, and establish a lasting memorial and place of learning. It is generally seen as recognition and reconciliation that preserves heritage, with discussion centring on how the site is cared for and how the history is remembered.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.