Richard Bradley, battler for Māori rights in foreshore and seabed dispute, dies

5:45 pm on 7 July 2022

The late Marlborough iwi leader Richard Bradley is being commemorated as a brave and passionate Māori leader.

The late Marlborough iwi leader Richard Bradley

Richard Bradley was staunch in his protection of Rangitāne mana, his iwi says. Photo: Supplied / Rangitāne o Wairau

Bradley, of Rangitāne o Wairau, died this week.

He was the chief negotiator in the iwi's settlement process with the Crown, which concluded in 2014, and a key driver in upholding the history of the Wairau area.

Rangitāne o Wairau said Bradley, known as Uncle Richard, left a legacy for the iwi to grow, prosper and exert its mana.

"He will be remembered for his commitment to Rangitāne, his leadership and his passion for our whānau," it said in a statement.

"Uncle Richard has been staunch in his protection of Rangitāne mana and his contribution will continue to be felt for many decades to come."

Bradley was one of several Te Tauihu iwi leaders who, in the late 1990s, took a claim to the courts to determine whether the foreshore and seabed was customary land.

After several legal bouts that went to the Court of Appeal, the then-Labour government passed the much-maligned Foreshore and Seabed Act, placing it in Crown ownership, and triggering some of the biggest Māori protests in a generation.

The law was replaced by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act in 2011, which instead instigated a 'no ownership' regime, with negotiation possible for some customary rights.

"Ho hum," was Bradley's response to the new law, telling RNZ in 2011 that it did nothing to resolve old issues.

"After the rhetoric, and all of the dispute, and all of the alarmist talk that's gone on, the bill passed," he said. "It'll be the same as it's always been.

"You're in this perverse setting where the thief's the judge and you have to sit down with the thief and the thief's servant and justify the fact that you should be trying to seek some restitution for your property that's taken.

"The thief is going to set the terms to even sit down and get some recognition that they stole it off you."

Bradley was also part of a group that oversaw the return of the remains of ancestors who were taken from the Wairau Bar and then held by the Canterbury Museum for 70 years.

He told RNZ in 2009 that it was a long battle: "We'd always understood that the removal of human remains wouldn't happen but of course as we know now, it did."

"We're pretty confident we've got them back and will be putting them back."

In a statement, Marlborough District Mayor John Leggett said the community had lost a brave and passionate leader, who worked closely with him and the council.

"Richard conducted himself with style and class. He had a wonderful sense of humour and used his people skills to great effect with everyone he worked with," Leggett said.

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