Marama Tawhana, on the Uawa River, Tolaga Bay

These two short lengths of ditch once defended a pā on the river point extending as much as 150 m out to the left (east) of the photograph. The inner bank of the pā (on the left) has been heavily eroded by recent floods such as those caused by Cyclone Bola. Even in the 1940s, however, aerial photographs show that there was only a small area about 5 m across and 20 m long surviving within (left of) the ditch and bank defences. The river point has built up downstream (top right, to the south-west) while the upstream bank has eroded, abruptly terminating the defences. The site is about 350 years old.