 In 1851 he, along with his father and brothers, had signed deeds for the sale of major land blocks in Ahuriri (now the city of Napier) and at Waipukurau.He also took part in the sale of the Matau-a-Maui (Cape Kidnappers) block in 1855.Despite his own involvement in the sale of land, Tomoana was alarmed by the rate of Māori land loss in the Hawke's Bay Region in the 1850s.