It took an arrest in 2019 for contempt of court to remove Bruce Smith and his family from land north of Wairoa in a wider whanau dispute over his rights to occupy part of a remote 1760 hectare farming block: Rautawhiri Station. Six years later, the Maori Land Court was asked for a definitive ruling on who owns a house and farm buildings at Rautawhiri on leased Maori land.
Mr Smith’s father Francis died in 1997. Their family home burned down two years later. It was re-built in 2001with proceeds of insurance, plus a $30,000 cash contribution put in by widow Winnie.
Son Bruce subsequently claimed ancestral rights to the home.
Legal dispute in the Maori Land Court centred on leasehold rights over Maori freehold land described as Waipaoa 5A2.
In a property lease, buildings constructed on land are ‘fixtures,’ forming part of the real estate. Leaseholders are entitled to occupy the building, but ownership of any building work done passes to the lessor and remains in the lessors’ ownership when the lease ends.
Lease terms may specify if any compensation is payable to the lessee for improvements made during a lease.
The court was given detail of successive leases over the disputed Rautawhiri land stretching back to 1925.
At time of the 2001 rebuild, Maori Trustee as lessor held title on behalf of multiple beneficial owners, including the estate of Francis Smith.
Terms of the then existing lease stated there was no compensation for improvements, but annual rent could be adjusted downwards to part-compensate the lessee for improvements made which benefit the Maori Trustee as lessor.
Mr Smith argued the lease could be ignored; facts on the ground were different.
Insurance cover used to rebuild the family home came from an insurance policy taken out in the name of his late father’s estate with the premium paid for by his estate, he said.
The Maori Trustee did not value the rebuilt home, offering a reduced rental for the improvements made.
Judge Doogan said that under terms of the lease the Estate was required to insure the building in the name of the Maori Trustee and to pay the insurance premium. It was an oversight that the policy did not note the interest of the Maori Trustee as lessor, he said.
After the fire, the Maori Trustee took control of the insurance payout. The Trustee approved rebuilding plans. The Trustee made clear at the time that the rebuild ‘belonged’ to all customary owners as lessors, Judge Doogan said.
While no reduced rental was offered for the value of the rebuilt home, a rent concession had been applied consistently over decades for there being a family home constructed on the leased land.
Judge Doogan ruled Bruce Smith and his immediate whanau had no equitable right to sole occupation of the rebuilt home; beneficial ownership lies with the many customary Maori owners represented by the Maori Trustee as lessor, he ruled.
Control of the disputed property is now in hands of an ahu whenua trust with six elected trustees.
The court was told the home has been occupied only occasionally since 2003. Farmers holding a grazing licence over the land do not live on the property.
Smith v. Thompson – Maori Land Court (12.12.25)
26.049