such, it is regarded as taonga, a special treasure. Local iwi first petitioned Parliament in the 1870s, and efforts have since been made to safeguard the river and give it the respect it deserves. For the same reason, the river has been one of the most fiercely contested regions of the country in claims before the Waitangi Tribunal for the return of tribal lands. The Whanganui River claim is heralded as the longest-running legal case in New Zealand history with petitions and court action in the 1930s, Waitangi Tribunal hearings in the 1990s, the ongoing Tieke Marae land occupation since 1993, and the highly publicised Moutoa Gardens occupation in 1995. On 30 August 2012 agreement was reached that entitled the Whanganui River to a legal identity, a first in the world, and on 15 March 2017 the relevant settlement was passed into law (Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017) by the New Zealand Parliament. Chris Finlayson, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, said the river would have an identity "with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person". He said some people would consider it strange, but it is "no stranger than family trusts, or companies, or incorporated societies." The bill finalised 140-year-old negotiations between Māori and the government. The river will be represented by two officials, one from Māori and the other from the government. Naming Whanga nui is a phrase meaning "big bay" or "big harbour". Some very early maps show that European settlers called the river the Knowsley River, however it was known as the Wanganui River until its name was officially changed to Whanganui in 1991, respecting the wishes of local iwi. Part of the reason for this change was also to avoid confusion with the Wanganui River in the South Island. The city at the river's mouth was called Wanganui until December 2009, when the government decided that while either spelling was acceptable, Crown agencies would use the Whanganui spelling. See Controversy over Wanganui/Whanganui spelling Flora and fauna A wide variety of flora and fauna can be found in the Whanganui River. Birds Blue duck/Whio populations can be found at the junction of the Whanganui River and the Mangatepopo and Okupata streams. The Nankeen night heron established roosts along the Whanganui River in the 1990s and is breeding in New Zealand only in this location. Fish The Whanganui