More Info →Health Inspectors' Report on Māori Housing at Kai Iwi Pā

In 1958, the Health Inspector and Trainee Health Inspector of the Kairanga County Council conducted a survey of the housing conditions at the Kai Iwi Pā, a Marae and village of the Ngāti Kauwhata iwi, near Feilding.  They reported: “It is obvious conditions generally are bad – housing structures are poor and dilapidated; there is gross over-crowding; plumbing and draining almost entirely absent and water supplies inadequate.”  Welfare Officers from the Māori Affairs Department had attempted to improve conditions in the area, but in most instances the houses were still assessed as unsafe or unsanitary.