GoFundMe page set up to buy island in the Hokianga Harbour

A crowdfunding campaign has been started to buy a 14ha Northland island so it can be returned to hapu hands.

Motukaraka Island in the Hokianga Harbour is for sale. But local hapu Ngai Tupoto want the land to be a public reserve.

So Ana Sarich has established a GoFundMe page so people can contribute funds to buy the island, which has a valuation of $85,000 to $300,000, so it can be returned to Ngai Tupoto and made a public reserve, the page says.

"The land was transacted without the knowledge of local hapu who were living on the land, and so the struggle began. Many Maori had to purchase their land back in order to protect their homes and marae, while others lost it," the page said.

The local Ngai Tupoto ki Motukaraka Facebook page said the land was wahi tapu (sacred place).

"It is the site of a massive battle where many many people were killed and were left to lie there when our tupuna defended our lands from attack in the past. Bones still come up there and large numbers have been interred in Remana urupa (cemetery] over the years."

A survey of Moturaka Island for Thomas McDonnell who purchased a trading, timber milling, and shipbuilding establishment at Horeke in 1831. Photo / Turnbull Library

The Bayleys website describes the land as 14.16ha of "flat to gently sloping land, cloaked in rich historical tales". It said ownership of the island, which can only be reached by boat, has been tightly held by the current family for more than 50 years.

"Best known as a seafood bounty, the island is bursting with flounder, oysters, cockles, pipi and snapper. Although currently overgrown, the land offers highly fertile soil," the website said.

The Moturaka Memorial marks the contribution from the region to the Great War. Photo / Supplied

Bayleys real estate agent David Baguley said he was not aware of the GoFundMe site but had received calls from hapu members who were interested in buying the land.

Last year Duane Major and Adam Gard'ner helped raise more than $2 million through a high-profile Givealittle campaign last year to buy 7ha of private beach at Awaroa Inlet, which was then made part of the Abel Tasman National Park.

If you're interested in the GoFundMe page visit www.gofundme.com/buybackmotukarakaisland