BACKGROUND TO THE NEW MANAGEMENT REGIME AT WAITOMO CAVES
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the circumstances that have created a new management structure for the Waitomo Caves. Points covered include the relationship of the local Maori people with the cave and the Department of Conservation, and the Government's role in the creation and sale of state owned enterprises.
INTRODUCTION
The last few years have seen some radical and sweeping changes in New Zealand, brought about by the pressures of an economy under stress and government moves to reduce a mounting overseas deficit presently about $15,000 for every man, woman and child. The main factor affecting all facets of New Zealand life has been the Government's move to reduce the deficit through the sale of Crown assets, by restructuring across the board of Government Departments and creating a range of state owned enterprises, which have been progressively offered for sale.
In the case of Waitomo, the tourist caves run by the Tourist Hotel Corporation were offered for sale as part of the THC chain of hotels and other assets throughout the country.
At the time of the sale, the hotels were reported to be running at a loss of $650,000 per month and the Government requested priority for the sale to reduce the burden of mounting debt as soon as possible.
The Government estimated that the THC needed an injection of new capital around $100 million to reduce the debt and carry out refurbishment and rebuilding to an acceptable standard and given the past financial performance it considered that this would have been more taxpayer's money down the drain.
In recent years there has also been something of a renaissance in the Maori culture of New Zealand. There has been an awakening to the suppression of the culture through the dominance of European ways, values and lifestyle to the point where the spoken language was under threat of being lost, along with the oral history, lifestyle and culture of the Maori people.
An upsurge in the interest in the culture has been widespread and has been assisted by Government policies with special funds and programs for NZ indigenous people and also a commitment to honour the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. This commitment has been carried through into recent legislation, such as the Conservation Act 1987.
The Treaty was a document signed by the Maori Chiefs of NZ and the Queen of England's representatives in 1840. The Treaty comprised of three articles, the second article provided; "Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and to the respective families and individuals thereof the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates forests fisheries and other properties which may collectively or individually possess so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession; but the chiefs of the united tribes and the individual chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of pre-emption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed of to alienate at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf".
Successive governments have tried to deal with many sensitive land issues which have remained unresolved like festering sores. Through the development and colonisation of NZ by the European, much land was taken, acquired or confiscated from the Maori people in the past and the Government has in recent years made it possible for some of the past actions to be reviewed and redressed.
The Waitangi Tribunal was established by the Government to hear and consider cases and grievances from the Maori people and in particular, claims involving Crown land and public resources. The Tribunal's role is to make appropriate recommendations to the Government in respect of such claims.
WAITOMO LAND CLAIM
One such claim was lodged for much of the land in the vicinity of Waitomo. The land had originally been taken for tourist accommodation purposes, but only a small area is now used for hotel purposes and a claim was made for the return of the balance of the land on the basis that it was no longer being used for the purpose for which it was acquired/taken.
The Public Works Act has a specific provision which relates to the disposal of Crown Land and has a requirement to offer it back to the original owners or their descendants.
The claim was lodged by Josephine Anderson, a family member of the whanau or family of Tane Tinorau who discovered the Waitomo Caves along with the surveyor Fred Mace. Much time and research was involved in seeking out the historical facts and the web of land dealings over the past 100 years was a complex one.
For this paper, the focus is only on the aspect of the claim affecting the Waitomo Caves. The Waitomo Caves are within the Waitomo Caves Scenic Reserve. That land was formerly controlled by the Tourist Hotel Corporation as an agency of the Crown and upon sale of the Corporation, the land was to revert to the Department of Conservation for administration and control as a scenic reserve.
As part of the claim affected this land, the Government was faced with a dilemma. It had the urgent need to dispose of the THC Waitomo for fiscal reasons, but it could not offer the land for sale whilst it was still shrouded with the uncertainty of a claim against the land.
The situation worked in favour of the claimants, as it had the effect of elevating their claim from the bottom of the pile to the top.
The Government appointed a consultant to prepare and oversee the sale of the Tourist Hotel Corporation. As a first step, the land issue had to be resolved and the Waitangi Tribunal, which was also under pressure from mounting claims, developed a new method of dealing with its claims and elected to trial the process at Waitomo.
Rather than the parties going to a full and normal hearing, the new process provided for settlement by the way of mediation and in this case the process was presided over by a former District Court Judge.
The mediation process took the form of several meetings on the Tokikapu Maori, the meeting place for the local Maori people, the descendants of Tane Tinorau.
The first such meeting enabled the claimants to put their case to the Crown.
Reflecting back to the time of the discovery of the caves by Fred Mace and Tane Tinorau in 1887, it is clear that Tane Tinorau provided a guiding service that was the start of the tourism that prospers at Waitomo today.
At the time, the government pursued a policy of protection and development of tourist attractions and in the case of Waitomo, subsequent to the discovery of the caves, the Tourist Department felt impelled to take protective measures to prevent positive damage to the caves. In earlier times, most visitors to any caves invariably carried away portable stalactites and other formations as souvenirs.
The Crown, then by negotiation, acquired an interest in a four acre block of land that contained the caves. The block was divided into 27 shares and the Crown acquired 10.5 shares of which Tane Tinorau owned 8.5. The net result being that the crown acquired one acre out of the four, with the balance of the land bearing awarded to the non sellers. A sum of 500 pounds was paid for the land with land sales at the time fetching some 7 shillings per acre.
The Crown's acre covered the glow worm grotto and at that time visitors were taken in and out of the cave by boat on the Waitomo Stream.
In line with its policy of protection and development of tourist attractions, the Tourist Department appointed a salaried caretaker during the last six months of 1889. His duties involved the maintenance of facilities at the caves, ladders, tracks etc, but not the guiding of visitors or collection of fees. Due to retrenchment in the Civil Service, the caretakers position was terminated early in 1891.
The Crown then subsequently tried to take over the running of the caves but this move was resisted by the Maori owners until 1904 when the Crown took action to acquire the balance of the three acres under the Scenery Preservation Act 1903, with a sum of 625 pounds paid in compensation.
The three acre area contained the main entrance to the cave which is used today, as well as being the land in which the bulk of the subterranean passages are situated.
From that point the caves continued to be run and managed by the Tourist and Health Resorts Department which evolved through a range of changes over the years resulting in the Tourist Hotel Corporation being formed as a commercial enterprise to run the hotel and tourist aspects.
The visitation to the caves increased progressively to the point where they are one of New Zealand's most visited attractions. The mediation process brought out into the open the matter of discontent that the former Maori owners held and had suffered as a result of the Crown's actions to acquire the land in 1904.
The mediated agreement in respect of the caves resulted in the three acre block being returned to the former Maori owners and a partnership being formed between the Crown (DOC) and the trustees for the former owners to run the caves. Because the tourist operation was still high on the Government's agenda for sale, the agreement reached during the mediation was that the land be subject to a license to operate a cave guiding concession. That licence was to be sold by the Government along with the THC Hotel chain.
The Department of Conservation then set about preparing a licence document to safeguard the future of the resource. The document grew to some 39 pages and is notable in that it binds the licensee to the operative management plan (now under review) and also required a five yearly operational plan which is to be approved by the owners. That plan gives the cave managers an opportunity to be involved in new developments such as lighting, jetties, covered walks etc.
The licence is for a 32 year term and it was designed to take account of the sale or transfer of the operation to completely unknown or foreign operators, and it needed to include specific management requirements to safeguard the resource.
Revenue from the licence was negotiated by Treasury initially at 15% of the gross turnover for the guiding concession, and 4% of the gross turnover for the souvenir shop. This sum is in turn apportioned on a 75%-25% basis between the Trustees for the owners and the Crown; this is on the basis if the three acres/one acre land holdings for the core cave area.
The government was keen to steer clear of any suggestion of compensation for the settlement with the Trustees of the former owner as this would have implications as a precedent for all other claims. To get around this issue, but to also recognise that the former Maori owners had been deprived income from the resource over most of its operating time as a tourist venue, the Government awarded a one-off loan of one million dollars to be repaid over 32 years from a percentage of the claimants income from the caves. The Trustees have in turn set up a special trust for this money which will be used for the betterment of their people and family through grants for education, training and employment opportunities etc.
The partnership between the Department of Conservation and the Trustees is a 50%-50% one with 3 representatives for each party. There is plenty of work ahead in the administration of the licence, management planning and the monitoring/review if the licensees operation.
In that respect the Management Committee is thankful that the sale of the THC to Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation has resulted in the retention of the core THC staff and management which has made the task many times easier than it may have been.
Looking ahead, the Waitomo Cave Management Committee still has the major issue of covenants to secure the environs of the cave to consider, negotiate and formalise. As a condition of the re-vesting of the various lands, it was agreed that covenants would be registered to protect in perpetuity the ecological and cultural values of the land. The Committee will seek appropriate expert advice on aspects such as the covenant issue and any other matters concerning the ecology and environmental well being of the resource.
The sale of the THC took place on 14 June 1990 and although now owned by the Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation, the operation has continued to trade under the name of the Tourist Hotel Corporation. The THC sale at $73.85 million did not quite cover the discharging of the debt of the corporation, but it has at least relieved that burden from the taxpayers.
CONCLUSION
The Maori people have a great affinity with their land and the Department of Conservation has a mandate and mission to protect, enhance and manage the conservation of natural and historic resources whilst promoting their appreciation and sustainable use so as to safeguard the options of future generations.
The Waitomo Caves now have two partners in management taking an active interest in its well being which must enhance its future prospects.
REFERENCES
WILSON, J. From the Beginning, Penguin Books, 1987
RICHARDS, J. H., Historical Research for Waitomo Caves Booklet, AH & AW Reed, 1954
DOC Files, Waitomo Caves Scenic Reserve, Ref RSC178, Vols I - IV
The Royal Commission on Social Policy, The Treaty of Waitangi and Social Policy, Discussion booklet No 1, 1987