Rapua a Pātaka Whenua
Guidance to search the court record in Pātaka Whenua

Read the How to become a registered user in Pātaka Whenua guide to learn how to register in Pātaka Whenua. 

You can search for information by using the name of the land block.

You can see where the whenua is and if there are any current applications about it before the court. This may help you and other landowners decide on future development or use of your whenua.

If you’re making a whenua timeline you can access historical information of that whenua as recorded in the Māori Land Court (or our predecessor, the Native Land Court).

Read the Search for a block guide for help on how to search by land block.

You can search for current and historical documents that are public record in the Māori Land Court. This may include historical memorial schedules, court minutes and judgements, survey plans, and title orders.

Documents that are not included in the public record include:

• • will files (original wills with probate orders made by the Māori Land Court)
  • personal files (original grants of administration made by the Māori Land Court or files which deal with personal property in addition to Māori land)
  • adoption files (where an adoption was granted by the Māori Land Court)
  • any document or record that, due to its age and condition, can no longer be safely handled
  • any document or record that has been suppressed by the court.

Read the Search for a document guide for help searching for documents. 

You can search for a trust or administration body that manages whenua you have an interest in. This will show you:

• • who the trustees are and when they were appointed
  • when the land trust was formed
  • any historical activities of the trust
  • the trust order or deed.

In some cases, you can find trustee contact details which you can use to register your interest in receiving updates about the whenua.

Read the Search for a management structure guide for help to search by management structure. 

You can search for whenua that you have an interest in to learn more about the whakapapa of the whenua and the whānau. You can find information on:

• • the current list of landowners of the block
  • when a person became a landowner, who they inherited whenua interests from and the type of land ownership they have
  • the previous landowners and line of succession, or whakapapa of the whenua.

You can find historical information that may help you to gather information about your whakapapa. 

Read the Search for ownership guide for help on how to search by landowner. 

Understanding the references can help you find what you are looking for and understand what you are reading. 

A Guide to Māori Land Court minute book abbreviations. 

For more information on the legal terms used in the Māori Land Court click here. 

Download the Māori Land Court glossary of terms. 

Read the Forgotten password guide for help getting a new password. 

If you have trouble completing the CAPTCHA image, it may be because the image is not fully displayed because of the size of your screen. 

If you have this problem, make sure your screen is:

• • in full screen (maximised)
  • zoomed out so you can see the whole CAPTCHA image. 

Below is an example when you can see the whole screen. 

This is what the screen should look like when you zoom out:

Once your email has been verified, you will need to set your username.   

Pātaka Whenua will automatically generate a "username" based off your email address, but you can change this to a different one. 

To do this, click the username box and delete the text and type in your preferred username. 

If you see a RedShield error you will need to close or refresh your browser. 

Make sure that the browser is zoomed out (fully maximised). 

You should see the below if the browser is fully zoomed out. 

 If you are on a mobile device or have a smaller screen, click on the three lines showing in the red circle in the picture below to bring up the search.