Ōpua headland occupier prepared to stay 'forever'

Puketiti occupation leader Tony Williams on a stormy day in Ōpua. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The leader of a land occupation in the Bay of Islands says he's prepared to stay ''forever'' if the land sale isn't reversed.

Tony Williams, of the Ngāpuhi hapū Te Roroa ki Ōpua ki Haumi, started his occupation of an Ōpua headland known as Puketiti just over two weeks ago.

While numbers have dwindled from the original 20 or so, Williams said five hapū members continued to take turns to make sure someone was on site day and night.

The former council-owned headland was sold to an overseas businessman in March, who plans to build up to 17 houses. Far North Holdings, the Far North District Council's commercial arm, is the project manager.

Williams and his supporters have put up two large marquees — one serves as a wharehui during the day and sleeping quarters at night while the other is a wharekai — with a smaller tent set up as a kitchen. They have also erected flags and signs.

Williams wanted Far North Holdings to reverse the land sale and halt the development, then preserve the headland as a park or reserve.

''So much of our land has been taken, we don't want any more development ... I'm prepared to stay here forever, until the sale is overturned. We have to set some kind of precedent here and go through the right process with our claims.''

He said his hapū had four different Treaty claims pending in the area but felt they had been ''trampled on and dishonoured''.

Williams, who grew up in Ōpua but now lives at Ōtiria, said locals were supportive and regularly dropped in with food.

Kelvin Davis, the Minister for Māori Crown Relations, had also visited twice. One visit was for a meeting at Ōpua Hall with the hapū, local lobby group SOS, Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime and Far North Holdings.

Williams said Davis was working to facilitate a meeting with the landowner.

Far North Holdings chief executive Andy Nock had earlier said the company was aware objectors to the development were alleging the land was subject to Waitangi Tribunal Treaty claims — in particular by the late Sir James Henare in 1987.

That was, however, a matter for the Crown to address.

The land was zoned residential and the development was of a much lower density than permitted. It would provide new accommodation options for people who wanted to live and work in Ōpua, supporting local businesses and the local economy.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has commissioned an independent traffic review to determine how Ōpua School, which is next to the development's Kellet St entrance, would be affected.

School principal Simon McGowan was concerned congestion, lack of parking and danger posed by blind corners would be worsened by extra traffic from the development.

Experts from an Auckland consultancy firm had been in Ōpua last week to set up cameras and carry out traffic measurements.

''One of the experts was shocked there hadn't already been a serious accident and couldn't imagine how it would be with 15 extra residences feeding traffic on to the street.''

McGowan said he supported the hapū occupation but his focus was the safety of school children and parents.

''We want to encourage parents to stop, come on site and talk to teachers, but they can't do that. More residences and more traffic will make that worse, not better.''

Puketiti had houses on it until a few decades ago but more recently it has been covered in scrub with pockets of bush. Locals have made occasional attempts to weed and beautify the headland and created a lookout.