Chris McKeen/Stuff Te Kawerau ā Maki have acquired ancestral land at Te Henga/Bethells Beach where they can build a marae (File photo). Auckland-based iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki have finally acquired land at Te Henga/Bethells Beach to build a marae and kāinga whakahirahira (settlement of significance). Te Kawerau ā Maki have been without a formal marae and papakāinga since the mid-20th century, when the ownership of their last remaining lands at Waiti (Te Henga) were transferred. But in partnership with Auckland Council and a member of the original settler Bethells family, they have acquired ancestral land. The hunt for suitable land for a Te Kawerau marae goes back to the early 1990s, and negotiations over its transfer to the iwi go back to 2007 when the former Waitākere City Council acquired the land for this purpose.