One of the huts covered by a court injunction preventing them from being burnt as part of a plan by Te Uru Taumatua (TUT), the Ngāi Tūhoe iwi settlement entity, has mysteriously burnt down.
Te Uru Taumatua says the Otamatuna Hut in the Waimana Valley was discovered ablaze on Tuesday morning by a pest control contractor.
The High Court halted a Department of Conservation-endorsed plan by TUT to burn the huts, earlier this month, following protests by trampers, hunters and some mana whenua.
TUT says it had nothing to do with the blaze and is adhering to the ruling while the dispute is being heard; it would send kaimahi out to survey the damage.
