Summary Report - 31 July 2025
Update provided by Sandra Sievwright
The working group recently met via zoom to discuss the current status of the succession process for Hongoeka 4A and recent questions from whanau.
The facts to date:
The Maori Land Court (MLC) advised, in May 2023, that whanau could submit a succession application for Hongoeka 4A for Nanny’s children .
MLC advised , March 2024, that the succession application in May 2023 was not successful.
MLC records showed there was no record of Nanny (Kamira Mullen) owning Maori Land in NZ in any capacity. MLC confirmed their records are correct and the LINZ records are incorrect . The Land Title at LINZ for Hongoeka 4A incorrectly lists the current executors (Harry Mullen and Kathy Ashton) as “Joint Tenants” instead of “Executors”.
An administrative error was made in 1992 with the LINZ transfer documents ,when the original executors (Tom Mullen and Fred Crozier) retired.
Please note: Wellington Tenth Shares were vested in 1992, to all shareholders as named in Nanny’s Will and this process was completed correctly.
MLC clearly outlined (in 2024) the process, via email and phone , that the trustees / executors (Harry and Kathy) , with the support of whanau ,must follow to amend the Hongoeka 4A Title.
There has been delays.
Late 2024, the above advice from MLC was“double checked” with another advisor at MLC by other whanau members. This was time consuming and confirmed what had already been advised. The response from MLC at this time was “The whanau need to discuss this matter with the trustees/executors and seek legal advice before any application can be considered by the Court. Various whanau members have been contacting the Court in the last 2-3 years and it appears they are not communicating with one another “. So we have been told - please contact one of the working group if you have any questions rather than contacting MLC directly.
A lawyer was contacted , January 2025, and some of the working group met with them and received advice that the LINZ title amendment would take approximately six months.
However this lawyer then went down a pathway that was not useful ie Nanny was pakeha (a whangai child) and married a pakeha and that the transfer of Hongoeka 4A back to Maori Land was potentially incorrect and needed to be reversed. It was also suggested that potentially none of her descendants would be able to succeed as Nanny did not have a bloodline connection to Ani Retimana.
Nanny (Kameria/Camellia/Violet) was legally adopted by Ani Retimana - the application was made on the 26th October 1893 . Nanny was not a whangai child. Legally adopted children are entitled to succeed to Maori land interests. Kathy has Nanny’s original
adoption papers and several of us have a copy of the papers.
Kathy Ashton, and Sandra Sievwright, are in the process of contacting a lawyer who can provide an estimated cost and timeline to the executors/ trustees and whanau for completing an application to amend the registered ownership of Hongokea 4A and also to file a succession to further interests with the Maori Land Court. It is only when both of these tasks have been completed those who are entitled to succeed to Hongoeka 4A shares will be able to apply for succession.
Results from voting on trusts, etc, are not considered legal (information given by MLC via phone meeting 2024) until there is full succession, and the succession process can not be started until the Land Title is amended and the initial “succession to further interests” is filed.
There will be a cost to the whanau. MLC provides some funding, but it is minimal. For instance, if the Lawyer charges $450 an hour, the funding will be approximately $150 per hour.
Contact Details: Kathy +64 27 263 2741 or Sandra +61 419 190298
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