The Mawhera Incorporation owns core and freehold land.  Core land is that owned by the original ancestral owners and transferred to the Incorporation under the Mawhera Incorporation Order 1976.  It includes commercial land within the Greymouth Central Business District, residential property in Westport, and Greymouth and a number of rural land blocks throughout the West Coast.  The majority of this land is perpetually leased and these leases restrict the Incorporation in both management and achieving economic returns.

Perpetual Leases

The legacy of perpetual leasing over Mawhera lands arises from the The Public Trustee Act 1882. The Public Trustee was empowered to allocate to Maori such land thought necessary for their occupation and to lease the rest to Europeans generally, in perpetuity. European settlement was favoured and promoted through leasing. This Act set in place leases over the land Mawhera now owns and manages on behalf of its 2,500 shareholders. It is a legacy that continues. Apart from the 1997 amendments to the rental review rate and the review period, the perpetual terms of the lease remain in place as they have since the early 1880's. .  This land is managed today in accordance with Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993.