We’re an independent charitable trust committed to helping Māori access healthy, affordable housing.
We work with our housing partners across New Zealand to invest in housing projects and pathway to ownership programmes to help Māori whānau.
Te Tumu Kāinga is the trading name for the Auckland and Onehunga Hostels Endowment Trust. We are administered by the Māori Trustee.
The Trust was established in 1850 for the purposes of providing accommodation for Māori.
From 1920, the Trust has been administered by the Māori Trustee, who is supported by Te Tumu Paeroa.
The terms of the Trust are now set out in section 89 of the Māori Reserved Land Act 1955. Over time, the Trust has adapted to meet the changing accommodation needs of Māori in the community, including through the provision of hostel accommodation to support Māori trade trainees and school students.
More recently, the Trust’s primary focus has been to invest in housing projects and pathway to ownership programmes to support Māori access healthy, affordable housing.
On its formation in 1850, the Trust received an endowment of property to support its activities in providing accommodation for Māori.
As an independent charitable trust, the Trust funds its charitable housing activities from income derived from these endowment properties and subsequent investments made.
The endowment properties comprise a portfolio of property in Auckland, which are leased to provide a rental income stream.
Subsequent investments made by the Trust have included a 50% stake in a 49-unit housing development in Whenuapai, which was built and leased to the New Zealand Defence Force.
This project was completed in 2019 and provides Te Tumu Kāinga a monthly rental distribution to support its charitable activities.
Brae Watkins (Ngāpuhi) has worked in the property industry for the last 48 years in Listed, Private and Institutional Companies in New Zealand. He’s a Fellow of the Property Institute of NZ, an Associate member of the Real Estate Institute of NZ, and a Member of the Institute of Directors of NZ.
Brae’s been a Director of Colonial Investments NZ and is currently Chairman of Te Tumu Kāinga. He is also the Crown Appointee for 2 Prototype Housing developments in NZ managed by Housing and Urban Development and Te Puni Kokiri.
Brae is also a Director of Toa Developments Ltd ( Ngati Toa Housing Company).
Mark has a strong background in property and governance. He is currently a director of Augusta Capital Ltd and an advisor to the Board of Tainui Group Holdings.
Louise has been engaged in business for approximately 30 years across a wide range of industries where property is an enabler. Her background includes developing, managing and maintaining property assets, and she currently holds a number of governance roles in the property and health sectors.
Louise has also worked closely with representatives of iwi across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Chris is responsible for managing the Māori Trustee’s investments. Based out of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Chris has a B.Ag. Comm. from Lincoln and also undertook post-graduate studies in horticulture and marketing before embarking on a career in financial markets.
Chris previously worked in National Bank’s treasury and wholesale banking before concentrating on risk management, commodity/currency hedging, and investment management in London and New Zealand.
Jim is the General Manager of Te Tumu Kāinga, a role he has held with the organisation since 2018.
Jim started his career as a qualified chartered accountant, working with PwC and in the financial sector in New Zealand and the UK, before moving into a number of senior corporate roles, notably with Vector.
Jim then established a property investment and development operation in Brazil, which has delivered a number of social housing projects in Southern Brazil.
In addition to his role with Te Tumu Paeroa, Jim forms part of Koau Capital Partners, which specialises in providing investment management and advisory support to Māori and iwi organisations.
Hayden Whelan (Ngāi Tūhoe), independent director
Hayden is a highly motivated and experienced Project Director with a proven 13 year track record in leading multi-discipline teams and executing strategic initiatives to drive project success at scale.
Alison Rudd – Business Coordinator
Alison has been employed by Te Tumu Paeroa since 2018 and appointed to Te Tumu Kāinga in 2021. As Business coordinator Alison works closely with the Advisory Board and manages the external relationships of the Trust.