The Ngāti Kahu descendant of a Northland family which gifted land once used for a Māori school has lost a legal bid to be recognised as having a rightful claim to the land.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the latest legal bid by Robert Urlich to be recognised as a rightful successor. That title has instead gone to his younger cousin, Zhan Urlich, also of Ngāti Kahu descent. But Zhan's efforts to split the land 50/50 were thwarted by the legal process after Robert placed a caveat on the land.
The 1.82h on the Karikari Peninsula was part of the Parakerake No 576N block, first sold to Europeans in 1872. Simon and Richard Urlich bought it in 1952 and the next year they gifted part of it to the Crown to be used for Rangiāwhia Māori School and later Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Rangiāwhia.
The rest was sold to a development company in March 1954.
The school closed in 2016, which meant the Crown was obliged to offer the land back to former owners or their successors under the Public Works Act.
Simon Urlich died in 2002 and Richard in 2008. Under his will, the residue of his estate passed to Zhan, a whāngai child he had helped to raise.
Robert Urlich, Simon's son, was not part of the offer because his mother, who was also named as the residual beneficiary, had since died.
Zhan's lawyer, Michael Sharp, told Open Justice that the challenge Robert faced was not unusual and was linked to the way the court interpreted the Public Works Act. Sharp said it had happened to others, and more people needed to be aware of it.
"It's quite strict in that it's only the direct successor who can get the offer back."
Court records showed the land had a 2018 value of $800,000 and in 2019 Zhan accepted the offer-back for $125,000 which reflected that it had been gifted.
The Court of Appeal judgment of March 4 this year noted that some of the problem was linked to the fact no one thought the school would close and the land offered back.
The closure of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Rangiawhia school triggered the land-return process. Photo / Peter Jackson
Sharp said what the court did was strictly apply the terms of the Public Works Act, which said that land was to be offered back to the successor of the person it was taken from.
"Although they acknowledged issues with tikanga and Treaty of Waitangi they said they needed to interpret the act as stated.
"The issue here is the Crown can refer back to the Māori Land Court but only under strict provisions."
Sharp said it was Robert's view that the Māori Land Court should be the one to decide to whom the land should be returned in accordance with tikanga.
"Zhan's point of view was that he just wanted to deflect the general tensions of the two brothers – his grandfather wanted it to go to him and to whānau in general.
"It's really just about different points of view as to what should happen with the land."
The appeal was dismissed but with leave granted to each side to gather further evidence, with any further application directed to the High Court.
