He said some of the land was returned in 1923 after a claim was lodged in the Maori Land Court. Assets now belonging to the hapu included 28 leasehold sections. Twenty-three hectares are also leased to the Hinehopu Golf Club.
"That land was returned, except the road. In the 1930-40s our people petitioned the Crown to return the land. At that time, as a kid growing up, I saw my aunts, uncles, my grandfather trying to fight it and they had enough. They said, 'We ran our gamut, what else can we do?'
"I had lodged a [Waitangi Tribunal] claim 749 on behalf of [Te] Tahuna Trust and the hapu in 1997, but the ownership title had been transferred to the council," he said.
"The Crown can only return Crown assets. Our land was transferred from one thief to another."
Mr Meha said if ownership was given back to the hapu, nothing would change for the public who visited and swam in the area.
"We're not excluding anyone. We are doing this for our future generation, because I don't want another generation to go through this. We have to do this. What we are doing now is what our old people were doing 80 years ago with petitioning the council."
Mr Kingi said the council was happy to meet Mr Meha to discuss the issue and had already arranged to do so.
An invitation had been given to the council and Mayor Steve Chadwick for a hui at Tupuaeharu Marae on May 3.
Mr Meha said a peaceful hikoi was being planned through the city centre to "celebrate being Te Arawa" and stand united as a people.
"Access isn't ownership. We want control over our land and affairs, and we don't have it fully.
"We are treated like everyone else but we are tangata whenua of this. It's our land, it was confiscated, we just want it back. We want the mana of the whenua to come back to the hapu," he said.
