The Fenton Agreement: The Establishment of Rotorua

Ngāti Whakaue

From the 1850s, the very first tourists began arriving in the region, many of them from the other side of the world. They came to see the wonders of the area, such as the Pink and White Terraces of Rotomāhana.

By the 1870s, the Government realised that a township should be set up to serve as a gateway to these wonderful attractions.

In 1880, Ngāti Whakaue entered into a contract with the Crown to set aside land.
The contract became known as the ‘Fenton Agreement’ after the Native Land Court Judge, Francis Dart Fenton, who liaised with the original owners on behalf of the Crown. The Thermal Springs District Act of 1881 made the contract official.

It was agreed that Ngāti Whakaue would gift land to the Crown for recreation, sanatoriums, railways, hospitals and other amenities. The Crown would control the thermal waters. Māori would still own their land and receive never-ending income through 99-year leases.

The total area of land included in the new township was around 12 square kilometres. It ran from the ‘west end of Te Pukeroa to Puarenga Stream and from Lake Rotorua up to the mountains, excluding the native village of Ōhinemutu’.

A time of depression and hardship came to the area after the disastrous Tarawera eruption in 1886. The tourism business, that the Rotorua economy relied on, disappeared. Many leaseholders could not make their payments, and many Māori whānau (families) became very poor as a result.

The plan created by the Fenton Agreement had failed and put Māori whānau at risk.
In the early 1890s the Crown forced the owners to sell them the leasehold land. By doing this, the Crown ignored its responsibilities under the Fenton Agreement.

It was not until 1993, that the people of Ngāti Whakaue reached an agreement with the Crown to settle their broken contract. As part of the Settlement Agreement, the Crown agreed to return the gifted lands that were no longer required for their original use.

The Crown gave back the ownership of the railway reserves to Pukeroa Ōruawhata Trust, which was created to act on behalf of Ngāti Whakaue. The first of these was the former railway station and marshalling yards where Rotorua Central Mall is now located. Trade Central is also established on a former railway reserve.

Some areas were not included in the 1993 settlement. These include Kuirau Park, the Rotorua Public Cemetery and Government Gardens.

This story comes from the original Great Te Arawa Stories website created by Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW) Education Trust in 2018. To ensure consistency, minimal updates were made to the text before it was transferred to this new site.